The Sound Of You
by Absolutely Cullen
Summary: "You know what love sounds like? It sounds like you; your heartbeat at night when we are lying together, or the way you laugh or the raspberries you blow when you think something is stupid. I couldn't care less if you can't hear me say the words because I feel them everyday that you are by my side. You are my sound of love."
1. Chapter 1

The Sound Of You

 **Disclaimer: This story got stuck in my head and just would not let me go until I put it down on paper. It may be rubbish. You might believe that it stinks after you've read it. But I will feel better once I've let it get out there, wherever there is….**

 **I do not own anything associated with Fifty Shades of Grey or the marvelous works of E.L. James. I just admire her work and love to dream of the what-if's of life. Christian Grey is an amazing character and after watching Fifty Shades Freed, I think a lot of fans will agree with me, we just hate to let him and Anastasia Steele go. So this is my attempt at another telling of their life.**

 **The subject matter is regarding the hearing impaired. I am NOT hearing impaired in anyway. So if I offend someone with this story, it was never my intention to do so. In fact I'm actually trying to research the subject matter so that I can be as accurate as possible.**

 **Also a WONDERFUL woman named Stephanie Osburn, who herself is writing an AMAZING story called "The Donor", has agreed to help me with the medical aspects of this story. So I'll try to be as accurate as possible. But please remember, all mistakes are mine. Thank you for reading!**

 _ **Hearing**_ _ **, or**_ _ **auditory perception**_ _, is the ability to perceive_ _sounds_ _by detecting_ _vibrations_ _,_ _changes in the pressure of the surrounding medium through time, through an organ such as the_ _ear_ _._

CPOV

Why today of all days did I have to be running late. The meeting with the Sierra Hotel investors had been scheduled for two months. Ros and I had been going over their books until late into the night and I was exhausted by the time we quit. Typically, my nights are filled with frightening reminders of my past childhood, but last night I must have been so exhausted that I slept right through my alarm. Had it not been for Gail, my housekeeper checking on why I had not come down for breakfast, I probably would have slept right through the meeting. After a quick shower, I dashed out of my penthouse for work with a "Gail special" breakfast burrito in hand. Barring any traffic delays I would make it to the office with just enough time to look over some last minute notes before the meeting.

But of course the fates hate me and I'm currently sitting in traffic with no foreseeable motion forward insight. "There is an ambulance coming up behind us sir. I believe they are responding to the accident ahead causing the delay," Taylor said as he slowly maneuvered the Mercedes into the next lane to allow the ambulance to pass us. As the roaring siren got closer and eventually passed us, my frustration grew. I was certain to be late now and that frustrated me to no end. I hated being late. I prided myself on always being early for everything. To me, being early showed pride in work and interest in what I was doing. One of my pet-peeves was people who were constantly showing up late for things. It irked me beyond belief.

"I'm sorry sir, with this traffic there's no way we are going to be able to make the office in time for the meeting." Even as Taylor was completing his statement I was already on the phone to Ros to tell her of my delay and to have her reschedule the meeting for an hour later. "Ros, take them to a late breakfast or an early brunch, whichever. Just let them know that I'm on my way and that it will be worth their time to hang around." Exasperated, I hung up the phone and began considering my options.

"Pull into that parking garage coming up on the right, we'll walk to GEH from here," I instructed Taylor. I was going to get to work and I was going to make this deal come hell or high water. I wanted those hotels under my portfolio if it was the last thing I did. The Sierra Hotels were a chain with locations in almost 30 states. With a little refurbishing and a few tweaks in atmosphere and staff, they could easily be transformed into high-end hotels that would rival the Ritz-Carlton or the Four Seasons. To have them under my belt would mean that I could offer the full gambit of entertainment and luxury to customers. I already owned everything from exclusive clubs, airliners, restaurants, and even clothing lines. To own these hotels would really diversify my worth.

Driving into the underground parking structure and luckily finding a remote space against a support wall, I began to gather my things to begin the short walk to my office. I had just come around to the back end of the car where Taylor was removing my gym bag from the trunk, when an old blue VW bug came racing up to the spot adjacent to the one we had pulled in to. It whizzed past me so close that the breeze actually ruffled the bottom of my suit jacket.

"Are you fucking insane?" I yelled at the back of the car, furious, expecting the driver to emerge ready to confront me for addressing their reckless actions. As the door opened, out rushed a petite young woman with a mass of long, chocolate-brown hair. She rushed around reaching for items from the inside as she hurriedly locked her car door. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Do you know you could have killed me the way you came flying in here? Where you even watching where you were going?"

She continued on with collecting her things and stuffing them into her oversized bag, paying no heed to my intense objections to her reckless behavior. "Un-fucking believable. You almost hit me with this hunk of junk and then you have the nerve to ignore me."

"Sir, calm down." I felt Taylor's hand on my arm, pulling me back but after the shitty morning I had already had, this just took the cake. "I can handle this for you. Just head on to the office and I'll be right behind you."

"I don't want you to handle this for me." I fumed, snatching my arm from Taylor's grip. "I want to handle this my damn self." Arrogant bitch, doesn't even have the common courtesy to apologize for almost maiming me with her two-door death trap on wheels. Storming after the retreating form of the young woman who had yet to acknowledge me and my brush with death at her hands, I grabbed her arm and spun her around ready to really let her have a piece of my mind.

They say that when tragedy strikes often your life will flash before your eyes. In that split second as I became lost in the most blue eyes I've ever seen, it wasn't my life that flashed before my eyes it was the future that I only had a split second to enjoy before everything changed.

 _ **I hate cliffhangers, but I just wanted to get this out there first to see if there would be any interest? The next chapter will be up by Monday.**_


	2. Chapter 2

The Sound of You Chapter 2

 **Disclaimer: The disclaimer from chapter 1 still applies. Thank you E.L. James for these amazing characters! All errors are mine!**

 **I got so excited with all of those reading the story that I finished the 2** **nd** **chapter just now. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **APOV**

 _Shit. Fuck. Shitty-Fuckitty Fuck!_

 _I swear, I'm going to be late for my own funeral._

 _I should just go ahead and plan out my will telling them to roll me into the funeral home last after everyone else is seated. I mean I've been late for everything all of my life, why should I be on time for that one final event. Why change how everyone knows I already am._

 _And now, there's this damn traffic accident that is holding me up._

 _I shouldn't think that. What If some poor soul died in that accident and here I am condemning them for inconveniencing my life, when really I'm late because I decided to sleep 5 more minutes. But of course I couldn't just sleep five extra minutes, as that turned into 10 minutes which turned into 15 and then I was really late._

 _My first day at SIP and I was going to be late. Why, oh why could I not get going in the morning?_

 _Maybe I should get rid of my ridiculously comfortable pillow-top mattress that makes you just want to sink into its comfort every night. Or maybe I shouldn't have stayed up late last night watching horror movies with Kate that I know give me nightmares and make it impossible to sleep no matter how comfortable my bed is. Or maybe I should acknowledge that I'm late for everything and set my alarm for twenty minutes early knowing that I'll hit the snooze at least three times so I then actually get up on time! Aarghh! Why today?!_

I quickly pulled into the underground parking lot at SIP with minutes to spare and began collecting my bag, wallet, keys and scarf; shutting the door of my beloved baby-blue VW bug, Wanda, probably a little too hard and began speed-walking to the elevator.

 _Don't get sweaty, don't get sweaty. Sweaty on the first day looks bad!_

I was about fifty feet from the elevator when someone from behind grabbed my arm and spun me around. I was so shocked by the intrusion to my personal space that all I seemed to be able to do was stare. My dad, Ray would be appalled by my reaction. He had always taught me to be prepared to defend myself and here I was standing frozen to this sudden attack from behind.

 _Knee them in the groin, Annie._ He always said, _make them SING and you'll have time to get away._ But what do I do? I stand there staring into the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a man. Grey like the sea sky right before a storm hits. What felt like an eternity of me standing there gawking at him was actually only barely a minute before I felt the intense vibrations beneath my feet. Suddenly, this beautiful specimen of a man came hurdling towards me, knocking me to the ground right before everything went black.

 **CPOV**

Pain.

Lots and lots of pain and not the good kind of pain either.

Not the kind of pain that tells me I've run too many miles on my morning run but pain that takes your breath away if you even think of moving.

Why, oh god is my arm moving when I'm telling it to stay still?

Deep breaths Christian. Think. What happened just now?

My head feels like it is about to explode, so why does it feel like someone is stroking my hair?

Slowly my eyes begin to open, expecting to see daylight, instead, as my eyes regain their focus I find myself staring into the startling blue orbs of the brunette from moments earlier.

She's crying. Why is she crying? She's too pretty to cry. My head feels foggy.

I can't seem to find my voice to try to calm and reassure her, so all I can muster is a gentle shushing to signal to her that it will be alright.

She is holding my hand with one of hers to her chest, which I oddly focus on as being very soft and plump against my knuckles. What I don't realize until moments have past is that her other hand is firmly on my chest, right where my heart is beating. My breathing ceases as I await the searing pain that normally comes from someone touching my "no-go" regions, but nothing happens. In fact, all I do feel is the heat from her palm against my skin and it feels marvelous.

I feel her short fingernails gently rake against my skin right before I release my breath that I had been holding and I see her visibly relax. She's still not said a word to me, which strikes me as slightly odd since most people, I would assume, would be overwhelming an injured party with assurances of everything 'being okay' just after an incident occurred.

What did happen anyway?

The last thing I remember is looking into this woman's eyes right before a deafening blast rocked the underground parking garage.

Shit! An explosion! Realizing what must have happened I attempt to sit up but am held down by the tiny woman above me. I must be really hurt if she is able to force me back down. But I need to figure out what happened. I need to find Taylor. Oh god what if something happened to him. Gail would never forgive me. Taylor has been with me so long that he's more like an older brother than just a body man.

The panic on my face must have been frightening the young woman because the hand that was on my chest is now gently combing through my hair as she shushes me, trying to soothe me. But why can't I hear her? What is she saying? Oh dear god, have I lost my hearing?

Finally finding my own voice I croak out a few words, "what happened?" I can hear myself speak, surely that means that I've not damaged my hearing if I can hear myself right?

She just shakes her head, not saying anything. She just continues to stroke my hair, clutching my hand to her chest.

Somehow, during what must have been an explosion we've become buried under rubble. I can see the doors of cars on either side of us and a small glimmer of light coming from a pinprick of empty space behind the girl.

Everything is becoming louder and louder as I can finally hear muffled sounds of sirens and the shouting voices of people nearby.

Gently I raise my arm that the girl isn't holding, testing out if it is injured or not, and point towards the pinhole of light. Her head turns, looking towards what I'm trying to guide her towards and I hear her gasp. She's only got a few feet to move as we are crammed between the two crushed cars, a precariously positioned parking lot slab above us and the rubble behind her. She moves towards the pinhole and slips her delicate fingers into the space blocking out the light.

Strangely, I feel heavy when her hand releases mine. Like the contact with her was what was keeping me floating above the darkness. She furiously works at making the tiny hole bigger before pulling her hand back inside our little cave. As she removes her hand a cool gust of fresh air rushes in taking with it some of the stuffiness I hadn't realized was there.

We both take a deep breath now that a little fresh air can be found. Her hand finds mine again and I cling to it, feeling the darkness slip away a bit now that my lifeline is back.

I feel something wet on her hand and look down to see that she must have skinned her knuckles while she was digging.

"Oh god, you are hurt." I gently stroke her hand, wishing I could ease the pain she must be feeling. She just shrugs her shoulder as though the new injury is no big deal. In comparison to the shit-storm we are currently finding ourselves in, I guess a few skinned knuckles aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Still I find myself upset that she's hurt on account of me.

"I'm so sorry you hurt yourself. I don't know what's happened. Are you hurt more? Can you see anyone around us?" I find myself babbling furiously question after question without any real direction or focus. She just continues to calm me, stroking my hair and getting me to focus on her instead of the situation around us.

I don't know how long we've been down here, but I begin to hear voices closer to our location.

"Seattle Fire Department. Can anyone hear me?" comes a brash male voice.

"YES!" "Yes, down here. Help us!" I start to yell. The girl looks towards the opening and moves towards it. I want to continue holding her hand, but if she's going to be able to signal to them our location she has to move out of my arms reach.

Her battered hand slides back through the opening she had made earlier, all the way up to her elbow. It's perhaps two minutes before she lets out a little squeak of surprise and she looks back towards me with the most beautiful smile on her face. The corners of her eyes hold tears that are threatening to fall as she frees her hand and slides back to me picking my hand back up and placing it against her chest.

She strokes my hair, pointing towards the hole as the light of a flashlight shines through.

"Sir, ma'am, are you both okay?" came the gruff voice from moments earlier. I've never been so glad to see a Seattle fireman in my life.

"No." I state, cringing as I realize I must have hurt my ribs when I crashed into my companion earlier. "I'm hurt in multiple places and she's hurt her arms and isn't speaking. I think she might have hurt her head in the blast."

"We are working on getting you both out. Just try to stay calm and still. You were lucky to be so close to the entrance otherwise we would have had several feet of rubble to dig through to find you."

The fireman's words didn't exactly put my mind at ease since we were still trapped even if we were just feet away from our would-be freedom and safety. Internally, I fought with my desire to take control and demand that he hurry the hell up and get us out of here. The longer I lay here the more my body was announcing just how badly it was hurt.

"Taylor!" I screamed as loud as my bruised and possibly cracked ribs would allow me to bellow.

"What was that sir?" the fireman shouted back through the ever widening hole he and the others were making in order to get into our cramped location.

"I have a bodyguard named Taylor. He was with me. Just a few feet from me when the blast went off. Did you find him?" I couldn't help the panic that was settling into my voice. I couldn't lose Taylor. I didn't know if it was selfishness at not wanting to have to trust a new person with my safety if the worst had happened, or loyalty to a dear, trusted friend that was talking right now, but either way I had to know what happened to him. If they had not found him yet I would be damned if I was leaving for the hospital before they found him, one way or the other.

"Tall man, cropped dirty-blond hair, dark suit?" Breathing a small sigh of relief that they had obviously found him or else they would not have been able to so clearly describe him, I attempted to say yes before the coughing started.

One big cough later and I could see the look of horror spread across the beautiful girl's face as she gently dabbed at the corner of my mouth with the torn hem of her top. The tears she had been successfully keeping at bay before now began to roll, cleaning small paths down her dirt covered cheeks. How was it possible that this woman, who still had yet to say a word to me was becoming more beautiful with each tender movement she made as she treated my injuries?

"Ma'am, if you feel able to, I need you to crawl towards me so we can get you out and looked at and we can get into him." The fireman's voice was no longer gruff as he spoke to her, it was soft, almost coddling sounding. I found myself feeling a little jealous that he was turning the charm on her to get her to respond when all I wanted to do was keep her there with me.

Taking one last look at her face, I raised my hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheek and whispered for her to go. She raised my hand to her lips and I felt the soft silk of her mouth as she pressed a kiss to my skin, branding me with her touch before she slowly released me and scooted towards the now much wider opening.

After she left everything seemed to happen in a frenzy. A bulky EMT in blue crawled in to where she had just been telling me that they were going to have me out soon before slipping a stiff collar around my neck. Next, a long yellow board was passed into him. He placed it just under the edge of my body before quickly and gently - well, as gently as he could, with all of my injuries it still hurt like hell – rolled me onto the board. I was strapped to the board and could feel myself being pulled towards the opening. I couldn't move. I had straps covering my head, chest, hips and legs. I'm not sure I could have moved even if I wanted to, because suddenly it seemed like everything that hurt had come alive. I was in pain and not mild, tolerable pain but pain that made me begin to tear up, and I never cry.

I wanted it to stop, but I wasn't finding any relief. Everything was so loud. Why was everything so loud? It had been so quiet in the little cave my angel and I shared. Where was she? I tried looking around me but with the damn head restraint on me I couldn't turn in either direction to see her. Where was my angel? I needed to know that she was alright.

I could hear the hurried beating of propellers nearby, so I knew that must mean I was being airlifted to the hospital. "Make sure we go to Virginia Mason. His mother is a doctor there and he would demand it." I heard him before I saw him, but the relief to know he was alright was immense. Taylor's face appeared above mine right before I felt a sharp jab in the top of my hand. "You are going to be okay sir. We are taking you to the hospital. Dr. Grace has already been called and she's waiting for us."

An oxygen mask was placed over my face before I could say anything and so Taylor had a hard time hearing me when I asked about my angel. "The girl. Where's the girl I was with, Taylor?"

He looked at me confused. My eyes were getting so heavy. They must have given me something for the pain. But I had to know what happened to my silent angel before I passed out, so I struggled to get the question out a last time before the darkness took me. "The girl, find her Taylor.

Taylor looked worried, "What girl, sir?"

 **There you go, Chapter 2. Hopefully, it is as well received as the first one was. Thank you so much to all those reading this story. It's my first attempt at a Fifty Shades story, so I hope I can do the characters justice.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Sound of You Chapter 3

 **Disclaimer: The previous disclaimer still stands. Thank you for following my story. Each review, each notice of following, each favorite is so exciting to me. Thank you for being part of my little world. Any errors are mine.**

APOV

Orderlies, Doctors, and Nurses. Everyone was rushing around in such a hurry, going this way and that. More and more people were being brought in from the explosion, and more and more people continued to fill the ER that I found myself sitting in.

I had been brought in an hour ago by ambulance from the collapsed garage of SIP. They had brought me in and transferred me to the hospital bed I now sat in, waiting to be released – I hoped. The room was chaos with so many responding to the destruction, but to me it was all silent.

The crying baby being held by the woman whom I assume is her mother, the nurse on the phone ordering more blood to be brought down from the 3rd floor, the sound of the monitor next to me beeping as it registered my heartbeat – all silent to me.

But this was nothing new. I had lost my hearing a long time ago when I was only six. So the silence wasn't something unfamiliar to me. Nor was the person standing before me, snapping their fingers at me to get my attention. I didn't blame them though, they had probably rarely encountered a deaf person in their ER before and so, like most people, thought if they just spoke louder that I'd eventually respond.

You can always tell when a person is yelling, even if you can't hear their voice. Their neck strains a little. Their face pinks up at least one shade darker with the tension. Their eyebrows point inward as they frown in confusion as to why the new method of communication isn't getting through. As I said, I don't blame the person. Most people don't know how to address a deaf person when they first meet them. But it is really the only world I've ever known.

I finally decided to take pity on the doctor before he blew a gasket.

"Speaking louder at me won't make a difference as to whether I can hear you or not. I'm deaf." I said, signing as I spoke. The doctor looked at me stunned, as though I had just slapped him across the face.

Again, this reaction was nothing new.

When I was six years old I got very sick. It came on suddenly and the doctors that treated me weren't really sure at first exactly what I had. My mom and dad rushed me to the emergency room late one Tuesday night after having come home from school earlier that day complaining of a sore throat and a headache. My mom gave me some children's Tylenol and put me to bed. After a few hours, when she came upstairs to bring me some soup for supper she realized I was getting worse. I had developed an extremely high temperature overnight of 103.5 that I kept for two days straight. I was admitted to the hospital and started on antibiotics, but my temperature actually got worse.

Dad was staying with me one night while Mom went home to get them both some clean clothes when my first seizure hit. My temperature had risen to 106.2. My dad later told me that he had never been more terrified in his life than in that moment as he held my little body against him as I thrashed about, fighting his hold on me. Doctors finally concluded that I was actually allergic to the antibiotics I was given even though I had no previously known allergies on record. Unfortunately, by the time they determined this, the damage had already been done.

After staying two weeks in the pediatric wing the doctors determined that I had developed a severe case of meningitis and that I was lucky to be alive. Mom and Dad were a wreck because they couldn't figure out how I would have come into contact with something like that. The doctors told them that I was very lucky as it was caught early but that I would have to stay a few more days for observation because of the allergic reaction to the medication.

It wasn't until the third day that we realized something was very wrong with me, when I didn't jump when my best friend Kate knocked over the bedside table. In fact, I had no reaction at all until I turned around and saw that in the process of knocking over the table she had spilled water all over my new coloring book. I remember my eyes filling with tears as I stared at my friend and watched her lips move, apologizing for ruining my stuff, but not actually hearing the words she was saying.

I don't remember a great deal of my childhood before that moment. Some kids remember visits with Santa or gifts that stand out in their minds, but for me, it was like my memories started the day that I woke up unable to hear the world around me.

I remember my mom holding me in her arms and rocking me as my dad held my hand mouthing slowly the words, "It will be okay." The doctors said that combined with the high fever, my severe allergic reactions to the aspirin that was in the antibiotic as well as the meningitis virus itself, that the auditory sensory nerve cells in my ears had been severely damaged and that as a result I had profound hearing loss.

I went through what I assume is the normal progression of someone who had to learn to live with the changes of going from hearing to living as a deaf person. Even as a small child I understood that I had lost something very profound and important to my life. It wasn't unusual to walk in my house and find the T.V. wide open with me pressed up tight against it. I was certain that if I just turned the volume up loud enough that I would hear it. That somehow this mistake would fix itself if I just gave it time. I spent months in my room crying, not able to accept that my world had just been flipped on its axis and I was supposed to somehow just be okay with it. I would throw temper tantrums, lashing out at anyone that crossed my path because I couldn't make them understand how unfair this was.

I didn't go to school that year. My parents decided to homeschool me so that I would have time to adjust to my new surroundings. Plus, the school that I had gone to had no programs for deaf children and so they were afraid I would have just wasted a year. I felt closed off, trapped in my newfound world. I began to sink into a deep depression, which is saying a lot for a six, going on seven year old as their really shouldn't be much that could depress someone so young.

It wasn't until one day when Kate came over, and refused to leave until I saw her, that I found a spark of hope that the world hadn't given up on me. She brought her new tape deck to play a song for me. At first it really hurt my feelings because she knew I couldn't hear it. It felt like she was rubbing salt into a very fresh wound. How could she be so hurtful and uncaring? I was ready to yell for my mom to kick her out until she took my hand and placed it over the speaker on her tape deck. It was like I could feel the music through my fingers. Granted I couldn't hear the words, but I could feel the vibrations and to me, they had a sound to them.

After that, you couldn't drag me away from music. My dad came home the next day having bought me a tape deck of my own and five brand new tapes. I played them from the time I woke in the morning till the time I went to bed. It was like I was a thirsty man that had found an oasis in the desert and I wasn't going to let it go. Little by little new avenues began to open up to me and I stopped secluding myself to my bedroom.

It wasn't long after my music discovery that I found my love of books. The first book I read was _Ramona Quimby, Age 8_ by Beverly Cleary. I loved Ramona. I was convinced that somehow Mrs. Cleary had written a book all about me and just changed the names. I couldn't put it down. But when I finished her series I wanted to read more and so I started on the _Nancy Drew_ books and then moved on to the _Sweet Valley_ books. I would check out four and five books at a time from my local library every two or three days. Books were my escape into a world where you didn't need to hear to be able to have an adventure.

Eventually, as I got older my taste in books matured and I found myself falling in love with the classics like _Emma_ , _Pride and Prejudice_ and _Tess of d'Urbervilles_. It was actually my love of books that led me to pursue my degree in literature and eventually my job at SIP. Between my high academic achievements, and my persistent- some may say stalker-like- badgering I somehow convinced Mr. Roach, the owner of SIP to hire me. I could see the moment he "got it" when I said/signed, "you don't have to be able to hear to read a book and tell you if it's got potential or not."

Now, with everything having happened this morning with the explosion, I wasn't sure where my job status lay.

As I continued to watch my doctor he eventually motioned to me that he would return before quickly scurrying away. It never seemed to dawn on people that I wasn't newly deaf, that I have been living with this life adjustment for years and was actually very good at working with the hearing so that conversations could be carried on fairly well. But ultimately you'd get that look on a person's face that just screamed uncomfortable and then they would flee from the room much like this doctor had. So here I sat, waiting. Waiting for someone to figure out what to do about "the deaf girl" in curtain 3. That's apparently what I had been labeled by several doctors and nurses that cast quick glances my way, hoping not to be caught staring, but too curious not to inquire at all.

I would never classify myself as a mean person. In fact, I tend to go out of my way to be kind to others and to try to make sure they are cared for even if it is at my own expense. But I must confess, as I sat there for what felt like an eternity, I found small ways to amuse myself at the expense of some of those around me as I sat there twiddling my thumbs.

My phone had apparently been crushed in the explosion so my latest game of Words with Friends that I was currently crushing Kate in would have to wait. So to pass the time I decided to freak a nurse out every once in a while.

I watched carefully the nurse sitting at the nurse's station as she chatted away on the phone to apparently Ben up in radiology. She was telling him about how much she enjoyed their weekend away and how she was certain that Todd, her current boyfriend, didn't have a clue that she hadn't been at her sisters like she had told him she would be. A doctor stepped to the station to hand over a chart and she quickly ended the phone call. This was my time to pounce.

Normally, I didn't speak in public. Yes, I had been through years of speech therapy since technically I had learned to speak before I lost my hearing, but even with all of the training I was still self-conscious about how I sounded. But I had been sitting here for an hour with no one willing to take the time to really help me and so I was willing to forgo a little personal embarrassment to have something to help pass the time.

"I bet Todd knows more than he lets on." I said as clearly as I could while signing what I had said. Signing while speaking was just second nature to me now. I sometimes did it without even really thinking about it, even when addressing people who couldn't sign back.

The nurse's reaction was classic. Her mouth gaped open like a fish and her eyes were huge, round circles staring back at me, floored that I had apparently "overheard" her conversation. She quickly turned and scurried away as I quietly giggled to myself.

"It's not very nice to use your superpowers against us mere mortals you know," a lovely dark-haired doctor signed as she spoke, joining me in my curtained prison.

She had the kindest smile, one that almost seemed familiar and her eyes were gentle and held laughter in them even if she did act as though she were scolding me.

"Sometimes, people need to be reminded that ears aren't the only form of listening," I signed back, with a big smile on my face. "And who says I'm a superhero? Maybe I'm a supervillain instead, set to wreak havoc on those around me."

"Not according to my son you aren't." She said as she came closer to the bed.

I gave a little squeak of recognition. That's why she looked familiar. Her smile was the same as the guy's I had been trapped with, in the garage.

"According to my son, you are an angel sent down from heaven to make sure he made it out of that blast." As she finished signing her hands gently grabbed my bandaged ones and I could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. I didn't do crying. I was a sympathetic crier. No one could cry in my presence and not have me join in with them.

"I'm Doctor G-R-A-C-E T-R-E-V-E-L-Y-A-N G-R-E-Y" she spelled out to me as she introduced herself.

"I'm A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-A," I signed back "or Ana for short" I said.

"I'm so very happy to meet you Ana and so grateful that you were there to help my son. Were you badly injured in the blast?" She asked as she released my hands and reached for the chart at the foot of my bed.

Sitting down near the foot of the bed she began looking over what I assume was information about me and what had and hadn't been done for me while I've been sitting here. I waited until she was looking at me so that she wouldn't miss what I was saying. That had become a habit of mine since I needed people to do the same for me to be able to read their lips as they spoke if they didn't know how to sign. But Dr. Grace surprised me.

"How is it that you know how to sign so well?" I motioned.

"I'm a pediatrician here at the hospital and sometimes we have children who come in here that are deaf or hard of hearing that know ASL. So I figured I better learn how to speak to my patients. I'm nowhere near as fluent as you are, but I can figure out most of the conversation whenever a translator isn't available." Her smile was infectious and I couldn't help but smile right along with her.

You don't know what you are missing until it's no longer there. I learned that a long time ago when I lost my hearing and I felt a similar feeling every time I found someone new who I could actually "talk" to. Dr. Grace was the best. Just from the short time we had been sitting together I could tell that she must be a great doctor to her patients.

"How is your son?" I asked, trying to speak as much as possible to her since she said her knowledge of ASL was limited.

"Dying to see you again," she signed with a smile on her face that made her eyes sparkle. "His body guard, Taylor almost had him convinced that he made you up as a way to cope with the explosion. I was barely able to keep him in his bed when I told him that a young woman matching your description had been brought in before him and was being treated in the E.R. He made me promise to come down and check on you to make sure you were given everything you needed. Christian couldn't be more grateful for the 'beautiful angel'," Grace motioned slowly, "that had been at his side through the whole scary ordeal."

C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N, I signed, checking to be sure I had heard her correctly.

"Yes, Christian, my son."

I thought back to the handsome face of the man with the stormy gray eyes and the softest reddish brown hair I had ever felt on a man. I was surprised to hear that he was so concerned about me after everything had happened. His injuries were so much more severe than mine, having taken the brunt of the explosion from behind him.

"I hope you don't think me too forward by asking this, but would you be willing to come up and visit with him for a little while? He's anxious to see you again and to see how you are." Grace asked as she slowly got off of the hospital bed.

I suddenly felt very self-conscious and shy at Dr. Grace's request. Looking down I realized just how dirty from the dust of the explosion I really was. My clothes were a bit tattered here and there from where Christian and I fell against the floor as stone and particles crashed down around us. I had only been given access to a few wet-wipes to clean the dirt off of my face before being secluded to the confines of current 3. Although I desperately wanted to see if he was as I remembered him, I wasn't sure I wanted Christian's first real look at me to be that of a dirt-encrusted hobo.

Dr. Grace was apparently more than just a doctor, but also a mind reader as she read my sudden apprehension and offered to help me clean up and to find me some new clothes before venturing upstairs.

After about twenty minutes, which included a wonderfully hot shower and a clean set of scrubs, I found myself being wheeled by Dr. Grace up to the 4th floor towards the private suites where her son would be found. Sitting outside of room 434 it dawned on me something I had neglected to think of until now and suddenly my anxiety about my clothes seemed so small and insignificant. Pulling on Dr. Grace's hand to get her to stop the chair, she bent down near me to see why I was suddenly so concerned.

"What's the matter sweetheart?" She signed.

I felt nervous and a little foolish to say what I was thinking. But my internal need to protect myself kicked in and I couldn't help but ask the one question that burned inside me ever since we left the elevator and headed down the corridor towards his room.

"Ana, tell me what is wrong," Dr. Grace said as she held my bandaged hand in hers.

Looking into the eyes that still held so much gentleness and kindness, I asked the question that always seemed to make or break any new relationship whether it was friendship or something more of anybody new that I met.

Speaking as clearly as I could, I said what was weighing on my mind, "Does Christian know I'm deaf?"

* * *

 _Author's note: I struggled with this chapter. I knew how I wanted Ana to be as a deaf person because even though I am not hearing impaired I wanted her to be how I thought I would be if I were in the same situation. I would like to believe that I would be a little snarky at times when people don't know how to act around me, but at the same time to be exceedingly generous so that they understand me better. But like most people, I'm sure self-consciousness creeps in from time to time, plus Ana finds Christian attractive so she's worried about how he will take her being different._

 _I really don't want to use the word "handicapped" in this story because to me it seems like a deaf person isn't "deficient" or lacking in any sense. They just see the world in a different way than others do. That doesn't make them "lesser"._

 _Again though, it is not my intention to offend anyone in the hearing impaired community, and actually I've got some people reading that have offered to help me out so that I would be more authentic. But I felt this chapter needed to have my voice in it so that I would feel that connection to my Ana._

 _I hope you enjoy the chapter._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Sound of You Chapter 4**

 **CPOV**

1201, 1202, 1203 & 1204\. One thousand and four ceiling tiles are in my hospital room.

I'd done exactly what my mother told me to do while she was gone and I'd literally counted the tiles in my ceiling. In fact I'd done it twice just to be sure that my count was accurate.

"By the time you've done that, I'll be back with an update Christian, so just be patient," she'd said with that teasing glint in her eye. She knew that I'd take her playful instructions seriously and actually do it.

As a child she had told me similar things like this to help me pass the time as I waited for things that I really wanted. Patience has never been a virtue of mine and I was no different now that I was an adult. But she wasn't back and I was about ready to climb from this bed and go hunting for my long-lost mother myself. If it hadn't of been for my damned bruised ribs and broken leg, I would have been out of this god forsaken hospital bed and going to find her on my own. But as it was, taking a deep breath was hard to do much less sitting up and walking about on those death-traps-waiting-to-happen crutches.

I had crutches once when I was a teen after having dislocated my kneecap while playing football with Elliott one Thanksgiving and while on them, nearly broke my neck. I just couldn't get the timing of step, swing, step, swing or was it swing, step, swing, step. Elliott convinced me that it would be easier if I just walked with them like your normal steps would be and after the third time of losing my balance and falling on my ass, and Elliott laughing his off in the meantime, I determined I would never get up on a pair of them again. Thus I was stuck here in this surprisingly mildly comfortable hospital bed counting ceiling tiles, waiting for my mother to come back with news of the angel that stayed with me during one of the scariest times of my life.

If I close my eyes I can still see the concrete slab just above our heads that had crushed the roofs of the cars around us but had yet to fall further crushing us. I remember looking up and noticing a crack in the slab and praying as time ticked by that the crack didn't get bigger and eventually cave in on us. It was only the occasional movement of my silent companion that would draw my attention from my concern over the cracked slab.

The blueness of her beautiful eyes coupled with the shyness of her smile that she'd cast my way as she held my hand to her chest was enough to hypnotize any man into obedience. Occasionally, my fingertips would brush a loose wave of hair that had fallen over her shoulder leaving me wishing I could run my fingers through it, enjoying the feel as it cascaded across my skin.

She never said anything to me the entire time we were trapped, which seemed a bit odd but even stranger than that was the fact that I didn't mind that we didn't fill the time with empty chatter. I just enjoyed my time looking at her and being close to her. She seemed like the type of person that said a million words with a look rather than having to say them.

I was truly worried about her, especially after asking Taylor about her and him not having a clue about who I was talking about. Come to find out after we arrived at the hospital that Taylor had a, bordering on severe, concussion from the blast and didn't have any memory of the morning's events beyond us rushing out the door this morning. He had been set up in a hospital room next door to mine about 15 minutes ago for observation and CAT scans. Upon hearing about the explosion and our injuries Taylor's wife Gale, and my live in housekeeper, had come bearing comforts of home for both of us. She was flitting back and forth between both of our rooms trying to tend to both of us at the same time. I could tell that she was torn from doing what she felt was her job in caring for me and taking care of her husband. I finally put her out of her misery by gently telling her that if she made another trip over here within the hour to ask me if I needed anything more, that I'd dock her a month's pay. My playful attempt to tell her that family was more important than her employer was met with a frown and a gentle reminder that she considered me family as well. With that, she gently tucked my blanket in around my feet and told me to text her if I should need her in the meantime, but that she would check on me again in an hour.

So here I lay, in the hospital bed, with nothing but my thoughts and the gentle humming of machines around me to fill my time until my mother came back with news about the mystery woman that disappeared on me after we were pulled from the rubble of the parking garage.

Upon arriving at the hospital, my mother was a mess. She met me at the emergency bay doors, but since I was her son, the hospital wouldn't allow her to work on me. So instead she stayed by my side as nurses and Dr. Reed, the resident E.R doctor, checked me over. But my mother can never truly cut off the doctor side of her and so she was constantly asking questions, reading the notes in my chart and giving feedback even though she was not under my care.

It actually felt really nice to have my mom take care of me. There was a time when I was younger that I really struggled to allow my mother to care for me in the ways that she wanted and so for me to allow her to worry over me made her feel better.

I was just about to call for Gail to come help me with the water cup when I heard a noise just outside my door. The voices were muffled, but I could easily tell that one was my mother's.

"Finally," I sighed as I called out to her.

"Darling, I'll be just another minute. I promise."

My exasperation levels were reaching all new highs at this point. I wanted to know what she had found. She was supposed to go find out the news about the girl I was with. I wanted to know what had happened to her and if she had been hurt too. Why did seconds feel like hours suddenly?

Just as I was about to call her again the door to my room slowly swung open and in rolled the blue-eyed angel that had been haunting my thoughts.

With bruised ribs my breathing was labored already but it seemed like I stopped breathing when I looked into her eyes. She was real and she was right here in front of me, coming ever closer. It was like a movie scene where the most important moment moves in slow motion so that you notice every detail.

She was wearing hospital scrubs, which made sense because her hair was still damp from what I assumed was a shower she must have been allowed to take after arriving here.

I myself still felt a bit grungy because I couldn't move enough to take a real bath yet and concrete dust seemed to cake most of my skin. The nursing staff had cleaned me up the best they could but suddenly I felt a bit self-conscious of how I looked.

Her soft hands that I remembered so well as they held mine, were wrapped in gauze, twisting together nervously. She must have hurt them more than I realized as she dug out the hole in the rubble for our rescuers to find us.

I found that her baby blue eyes were openly staring at me as much as I was her, taking in my ragged appearance.

I could feel her taking an inventory of me as she looked me over from head to toe. Right now I looked nothing like the well put together CEO that I normally did, with my high priced suits and well-coiffed hair. Now, I had enough grit in my hair that I could probably pave a small driveway and I had more bandages covering areas of my body that I must rival that of The Mummy.

It was in that moment that I finally took a breath, ready to introduce myself to my angel when she turned to my mother and started motioning rapidly with her hands all the while only moving her lips and not actually speaking.

I didn't understand. What was going on?

"Mom?" I asked, wanting her to look at me but she was watching the girl.

I soon realized that the girl was using sign language to speak to my mom. I knew that mom knew how to sign. She had learned it as part of her pediatric rotation so that she would be able to speak to patients that couldn't hear.

Oh god, is that what was wrong with my angel? Could she not hear?

"Mom!" I raised my voice this time to get her attention back on me. She motioned to me to hold on a moment as she answered the girl's question.

By this time my heart monitor began to alarm as I frantically tried to get my mother's attention to tell me what happened to my angel.

"Is she deaf, Mom?"

"Did she get hurt in the accident? Is that why she can't hear?"

Oh god! If she got hurt that badly during the accident no wonder she never answered me while we were trapped. I was so concerned about some bruised ribs that would eventually heal and her whole life was changing from sound to silence.

As I continued to have my small panic attack my nurse rushed into the room to check what had happened to cause my BP monitor to skyrocket.

"Mr. Grey, you've got to calm down," the nurse gently instructed me, adjusting some settings as she went.

My mom had come around to the other side of my bed and taken my hand into hers as she softly attempted to calm me. "Sweetheart, calm down. It's alright. I promise you, everything is alright. You've got to calm down so that I can explain."

"Calm down," I gasped as I tried to breathe through the pain in my ribs.

How could I calm down when the one person who had been with me through the second scariest moment in my life was deaf as a result of it?

My mind started going a million miles a minute of how to fix this.

Could I fix this?

Specialists. I'd make sure she would get the best specialists in the world. I'd fly them in from anywhere across the globe to fix this for her. She was there for me and I vowed I'd be there for her, no matter what.

A sheen of sweat had broken out across my forehead as the nurse injected something into my IV line.

"Darling, please. Breathe for me. Slowly. In. Out. In. Out." My mother's voice and whatever the nurse had injected into my IV was slowly taking its toll on me and I could feel my heart rate begin to settle. The nurse backed away as the alarm was canceled on the monitor.

My head was swimming with the forced easing of my emotions through my IV and I was finding it hard to focus. But that all changed in a moment as small delicate fingers slid under mine, pulling me close to their owner. All of my focus changed in that moment to the beautiful blue eyes that stared at me, pooled with tears just brimming to fall.

 **APOV**

Sitting outside of Christian's hospital room I was suddenly nervous to meet him. Dr. Grace still had not answered me when I asked her if her son knew that I was deaf or not.

For those not used to working with the deaf it can come as quite a shock and surprise to them. He had already had enough of that for today and I didn't want to cause him extra turmoil.

"He won't care, Ana. He just wants to get to know the beautiful angel that stayed with him when he was so scared," she signed as she continued to explain that Christian needed an angel in his life and that he wouldn't care if I could hear him or not.

She was about to explain further about something from his past when she exasperatedly opened his door and stuck her head in. He must have heard us outside and called out to her as she closed the door and turned back to me with a smile.

"He is anxious to meet you."

"Let me bring you in, and I'll explain everything to him. Okay?," she signed.

As Dr. Grace wheeled me into Christian's room I couldn't help it as my eyes easily found his. They were the same as I remembered, grey like the sea during a storm.

I don't remember when I stopped breathing, but I do remember the moment his smile bloomed on his face. No one's ever looked at me like that before. He looked both overjoyed and relieved to see me, which I relished. I hoped that those feelings would still be there after Dr. Grace explained everything to him.

Turning to her I signed that I wanted to move closer to him before she said anything so that we could explain my deafness to him together. It didn't occur to me that in my asking of the question, I was also telling him that I was deaf myself and that I would shock him so deeply.

Suddenly everyone was moving quickly. Grace rushed to his side, the nurse came in from the station outside, Christian was struggling in his bed and I was trying my best to take it all in to figure out what was going on.

I could just barely make out some of what Christian was saying, that I had been hurt in the blast and lost my hearing there. He was freaking out because he thought I had been hurt and that I had lost my hearing as a result of it.

It broke my heart to see him panicking in such a manner so I did the only thing I could do at that moment and I slowly rolled myself to the empty side of his bed.

Men's hands rarely ever feel exactly as you'd imagine them to feel. Some are rough and callused, well-worn from working all day and others are softer to the touch. Not feminine feeling by any means, but almost as though you could feel the tenderness they hold even while holding tightly to your own. Christian's fingers wrapped securely around mine as I brought his hand towards me, wrapping my other around his.

Turning to me, his eyes searched mine for answers and it broke my heart to see pain and worry in his as he stared back at me. I could feel my eyes start to tear up as I searched for what to say to him to clear-up this misunderstanding.

Being a bit self-conscious about my voice I don't often openly speak, but I felt I had no choice at that moment because Christian needed to understand.

"Christian, I didn't lose my hearing because of the accident. I have been deaf for some time. It's okay, really."

 **GPOV**

Christian hardly ever had panic attacks anymore. His therapy over the years had pretty much eliminated them, but when he did have one it tended to come on full force. So this current one he was experiencing was breaking my heart to see because it could so easily be resolved if I could just get him to focus for a moment and to hear my voice.

The Librium that the nurse had injected into his IV was taking its toll slowly and I could tell that he was slowly calming down, but what seemed to settle him the most was the moment her hand touched his.

Even in medicine you see things that can only be explained as miracles because there is just medical explanation for them. Watching the two of them as they focused on one another was just that. Christian's heart monitor slowed down to slightly above normal, his chest was rising and falling in a normal breathing pattern and was finally calm all while staring intently at the young woman at his side.

I felt like an intruder of a very intimate moment right then and I wanted to allow them some privacy, but I knew I still owed Christian an explanation of what was going on.

"Darling," I said, trying to get him gain his attention for a moment so that I could further explain what Ana had said.

It was like he was afraid to turn his head away from her because if he lost sight of her she'd disappear but he did eventually turn to look at me. His grip however never wavered in his anchoring himself to her through their mutual touch.

"Darling this is Anastasia Steele, or Ana as she likes to be called." It didn't seem fair for me to carry on my conversation without Ana being able to know what I was saying. Although she had told me she read lips very well, I still tried to carry on my signing for her sake as I spoke to my son.

I tried to explain this to him as gently as possible so that I didn't bring on yet another panic attack like the last one. "Sweetheart, Ana is deaf. She's been deaf since a very young age. The only injury that she sustained during the explosion were to her hands, so try to be gentle."

His eyes darted back to Ana's and then down to her bandaged hands that he had a death grip on. With a small whimper you could see his fingers relax a bit as he watched her face to see if she registered any pain because of his actions. Seeing none he turned back to me waiting for more information.

"You apparently took the brunt of the blow because you were in front of Ana when the gas main exploded near the parking garage. The first responders said that it leveled three houses, thankfully all unoccupied at the time, as well as damaging a good portion of the underground garage below SIP where you had parked."

You could almost see the gears twirling in Christian's head as he took in what I was saying, but his attention kept going back to the young woman at his side.

It was then that my pager decided to go off and I knew that I needed to answer it. Excusing myself from them both I quickly stepped outside to the nurse's station. When I came back in, they were both exactly as I had left them, both staring deeply into one another's eyes, neither one saying anything to the other. It was like that scene out of Tarzan where he stares into Jane's eyes and you feel yourself getting caught up in their moment.

"Ana, Christian, I'm needed down in the E.R.," I quickly signed. "There was an accident on the interstate and two small children are being brought in that need my attention." I could tell they were both listening but neither made any move to change their current placement.

"Ana, do you want to stay here or do you want me to take you back to your room?"

They say that when you lose a sense that your others heighten to make up for the difference. A person that has lost their hearing often can say a great deal with just a look and by the look Ana was casting towards Christian there was no mistaking what she was asking him with her expression.

"Stay with me," Christian breathed out softly to Ana as he stared deeply into her eyes.

I was quickly realizing that I would no longer be needed for them to be able to talk and get to know one another. Just to be on the safe side I grabbed the small white board that was mounted on the wall for nurses to write notes to one another during shift changes about patients and handed it to Christian.

"Ana can read lips very well, but just in case." I motioned towards the white board. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

As I stepped quietly from the room, I left instructions at the nurse's station that no one was to bother them unless something happened so that they could have time to talk. My mother's intuition told me that we would be seeing a great deal of Ana Steele in the days to come.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: There actually was a gas main explosion in Seattle in March when I started writing this story that took down several homes. I thought it worked out pretty well with the story. Now whether or not that explosion was accidental or not….you'll just have to wait and see.**_


	5. Chapter 5

The Sound of You – Chapter 5

 _ **Author's note: There are several points of view introduced in this chapter. So I tried not to do a great deal of overlapping, but I needed to bring in a few characters to progress the story more. Also, if you see anything in bold, italics within the story that means that someone is writing it down and not saying it.**_

 _ **Also, I've been asked about Ana's hearing, if it is fully gone or only partially and I'll be addressing this in future chapters. For now, just know that a great deal of deaf people can keep up with conversations because they have learned to read lips well. Ana's had years of practice, so often it can been seen as though she "hears", but really she doesn't.**_

 _ **As always, thank you so much for reading my story. I hope you continue to like it.**_

 _ **Thank you E.L. James for the characters. Without you our fantasies would be nothing.**_

* * *

 **CPOV**

Ana.

Anastasia Steele.

How is it possible that a name could hold the beauty of a person?

Names like Bella or Isabella were obvious because they meant beauty or beautiful in Italian. But Anastasia was a Greek name I believe. Definitely, not something that you heard too often given to children of today's generation.

But who was I to talk? My birth mother named me Christian, in hopes that it would somehow compensate or redeem her for the horrible choices in life she had made.

I vaguely recall her calling me Chris whenever her "gentlemen callers" would come around, as she referred to them. She said that calling me by my full birth name too often reminded her that what she was doing was wrong.

Once I was adopted by Grace and Carrick, no one ever called me anything other than Christian at their insistence. Mom said it was important so that I could begin to leave that past life and all of the fears and heartache that came with it behind me. Elliott would sometimes call me Chrissy just to piss me off as a child, and a few girls I tried dating along the way thought Christian was too formal and decided to shorten it to Chris. Needless to say the relationships didn't last long with them since they had already started off on bad-footing.

Now, as I sat here with this beautiful creature beside me, I couldn't imagine a sweeter or lovelier name than Anastasia. It made me smile just thinking about it. I couldn't believe that I was finally sitting here with the beauty that had so tenderly cared for me while we were trapped after the explosion.

While mom was away trying to find me answers it seemed like I had a million questions running through my head that I wanted to ask about her. Now as she sat beside me, I was drawing a blank as to what to say.

The feeling of her finger tips gently stroking the back of my hand was mesmerizing. I could watch that subtle movement all day, just enjoying the tingling sensation as her feather-like touch traced patterns along my skin.

I didn't really want to address the elephant in the room, I was afraid that somehow, whether through bluntness or ignorance, I would offend her and she'd go running. I was in no condition to be able to run after her if I did offend her, but I'd be damned if she would leave me just yet. But I felt like I needed answers.

Mom had said that she had been deaf for some time, which now that I think back on our initial interaction explained a great deal. After she had left her car she never once turned to address me as I berated her for her driving skills, or lack thereof, as she nearly gave me a front-end realignment.

I chuckled at my own internal joke which drew her attention back to my face and as I looked into the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen on another human being, the words just seemed to fall from my lips.

"How long have you been deaf?" Shit! Way to go Christian. Couldn't have been a bit more subtle with such a blunt question?

I was normally very suave and debonair around women, but it seemed around Ana I was like a high schooler with his first crush. Open mouth, insert foot.

Raising the hand that she wasn't holding to my face, I covered my eyes at my stupidity. I tried to think of a quick and easy way to explain that I didn't mean to offend her if I had. I apparently had no filter when I was around her.

Gentle fingers brushed my cheek drawing my attention back to her and I was met not with anger or hurt, as I was afraid I would, but rather the most beautiful smile. Her cheeks were dusted in a soft pink blush and her nose crinkled slightly as she giggled her answer.

"Christian, it's okay to ask me direct questions about my being deaf. I don't mind," she said. Her voice wasn't like mine, that was obvious, but even with the difference I was mesmerized as I listened to her explain.

"I've been deaf since I was six. I got very sick when I was little and between an allergy that I didn't know I had to aspirin and a high fever with seizures, the whole ordeal caused my hearing loss."

She didn't look sad when said that. In fact, it didn't look like it bothered her at all not being able to hear.

"Do you miss being able to hear? I mean do you remember being able to hear before getting sick?"

She thought for a moment and then grabbed the white board from my lap that my mom had left us. On it she wrote, **"S _ometimes I can remember a song from when I was little or see something that reminds me of a time before my hearing loss, but normally no, I don't remember it. I've been without it so long that it's hard to miss what you don't remember having."_**

"Do you get tired of talking and using your voice? Do you talk a lot or would you rather sign? I don't know many signs. My mom, Dr. Grace, she knows sign really well, but I have never tried to learn." God, why was I rambling on like this?

As I ran my hand down my face I couldn't help but mutter, "I'm a moron."

Ana tapped my hand drawing my attention back to her and she pointed to her lips and then to me and back to her eyes and ears.

"I'm sorry. You need to see my mouth to be able to tell what I'm saying, right?"

She gave a gentle smile and nodded.

"I was saying to myself that I'm a moron." A little v-shape formed between her eyes at my statement. "I keep rambling off at the mouth, asking all sorts of stupid questions. I'm sure you don't want to have to go over your life's story with me."

Grabbing the white board again, she quickly erased what she had written earlier and scribbled her new message.

 **" _I don't mind. I enjoy talking to you. Ask me anything you want._ _And you aren't a moron."_**

 **APOV**

Although I had only been talking to Christian for a little over an hour, I felt I could confidently say that a flustered Christian was a cute Christian.

I thought I was self-deprecating, but it seemed like the more he tried to talk to me the more he seemed determined to apologize for everything he said.

I loved his questions and the fact that he seemed truly interested in getting to know me better. All of my fears that my deafness would send him running vanished with each new question he stumbled over.

Somehow we had moved to the topic of him and his older brother Elliott as children, making mud pies in the yard and Elliott daring him to actually eat one and him doing it. The way he described his reaction and the face he made while telling his story had me holding my sides from laughing so hard.

Christian was learning fast that if I looked away or if I closed my eyes, especially while laughing, that I couldn't get the rest of the story. So he would stop and laugh with me until he knew my focus was back on him before he continued on.

It was so easy to be comfortable around him, that I didn't realize how long I had been sitting there until I noticed Christian looking up and behind me as he pointed, signaling that someone had entered the room.

I was surprised to see my friend Kate rushing in behind Dr. Grace, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. The hug only lasted a few moments before she pulled away and her hands were flying, asking more questions than I had answers for.

She wanted to know what had happened. Why I hadn't called earlier, who were these people, and of course if I was alright. Had she actually been speaking she would have been completely out of breath with all of the stuff she was throwing at me. I gently grabbed her hands and tried to calm her down, looking her square in the face I said out loud, "I'm really okay, Kate."

Taking a moment to look me over to be sure I wasn't trying to spare her worry and concern, she finally hugged me again and then turned to the others who were watching us intently.

"I'm Dr. Grey, or as Ana calls me, Dr. Grace. I'm Christian's mother," Grace kindly introduced herself as she reached for Kate's hand in greeting.

In a room full of people it can sometimes be difficult to keep up with the conversation at hand, especially when people turn their backs to you or move slightly out of your line of sight. Kate was currently addressing Dr. Grace and I was feeling a little left out.

Christian softly squeezed my hand to gain my attention, before he motioned to his face and down his cheek. I think he was trying to ask me if I was sad in the only way he knew without interrupting the conversation at hand between his mother and Kate.

Smiles always seem to come so easily around him and I couldn't help the one covering my face at him trying to use my way of communicating. I couldn't help but wonder if he would want to learn sign language so that we could talk easier?

This led me to wonder if I'd get to see him again. If he would even want to see me again. Yeah, we'd been through a scary ordeal, but it was over and we both had separate worlds to go back to now that it was all said and done. He'd be stuck in the hospital for the next few days and I would probably be released to go home soon.

Where would we be then?

Would he even want to see me again?

My insecurities were beginning to rise up, but I tried hard to keep them from showing on my face. Christian had become very good at picking up when I was feeling sad or uncomfortable.

I knew my answer. I hadn't even left yet and I was looking forward to the next time that I'd be able to see him.

He squeezed my hand again and I gave him my sweetest smile and signaled that I was okay. It was then that Kate and Dr. Grace looked at me before Kate asked if I was ready to go.

Christian tugged gently on my hand to gain my attention before asking for me, "Go, what do you mean go? She just got here. Doesn't she need to stay for observation or something? She was in an explosion for god's sake. Shouldn't they be more cautious and keep her at least overnight? Mom?" Between the worry lines forming between his eyebrows and the frown on his face, I could only assume that the answer he was getting wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Sweetheart, she's been medically cleared to leave for a few hours now. She's free to go home any time she'd like." The sad pout on Christian's face was almost like that of a child who was told that he would have to say goodbye to his favorite toy. He looked over at me asking without asking if I was ready to go home.

Was I? Did I want to leave him now? The look of hope that quickly crossed Christian's face made my answer pretty easy to make and I signed to Kate my intentions to stay, at least for a little while until Christian grew tired of me. Turning to him I said the first thing I could come up with to delay my time with him.

"I'm hungry. How about I buy you lunch?"

 **KPOV**

Receiving the phone call about Ana was beyond horrifying. No one ever wants to receive a call telling them that there's been an accident and that as the next of kin to a, Ms. Anastasia Steele I should come down to the hospital as soon as possible.

The hospital wouldn't give me much of any details over the phone, other than there had been an explosion at an underground parking garage that Ana had been caught up in. Because of privacy regulations they weren't allowed to give me more information than that over the phone and so I found myself fighting mid-morning traffic trying to get from Bellingham, an hour and a half away where I had been doing a piece on a ski resort, to the hospital all while freaking out, worried about my best friend.

Ana and I had been roommates for years and as such decided to list one another as the next of kin since it only made sense that we were the closest to the other. Ana's parents lived over two hours away in a town called Montesano and in the case of an emergency, might not be able to be there when needed. My parents weren't much better because they were always traveling for this event or that, and so counting on them in the case of emergency could be life-altering at best.

Every horrible scenario had flown through my mind as I navigated traffic, finally pulling into the parking lot in front of the hospital. Ana, bloodied and bandaged, barely holding on for life, or god forbid the worst case scenario that I would be too late and her injuries would have been too severe.

So color me surprised when I rushed in behind the doctor who said she would take me to Ana only to find her laughing her ass off next to some hunky guy lying in the hospital bed next to her.

After hugging her and checking her over for myself and realizing that she was in fact okay, my energy quickly drained and all I wanted to do was have a stiff drink and a nap.

After introductions were made, I found myself sitting there watching Christian and Ana as they talked to one another. Christian didn't have a clue how to sign, but he was trying to pick things up, which said a lot from the outsider's perspective.

If Ana moved, he would adjust closer to her. If he became uncomfortable in the position he was in, she was quick to adjust his blankets or to touch his hand to check to see if he was okay. They were like two sides of a magnet, constantly being drawn towards one another.

It was sweet to watch and in all honesty there were times that they would look at one another and I would feel like I was intruding on a very private moment. So when Ana mentioned that she was hungry I was the first to jump on that and offer to go get everyone something to eat.

Chinese seemed to satisfy everyone's taste buds and after making a massive order, which Christian graciously refused to allow me to pay for, I told Ana I'd be back in a little bit and headed out of the door.

Dr. Grace followed closely behind me, allowing them the privacy that they desired.

"Those two are quickly becoming quite the item," she smiled as she laughed. "They've been together over two hours now and neither of them seems to be growing tired of the other."

"Ana is an easy girl to like. Christian seems really great too. Is he your only child?" I didn't want to be openly nosy, but if Ana was going to be spending a lot of time with Christian, I wanted to be sure of the people she would be in contact with. I know that made me seem overly possessive, but she was my best friend and not everyone that has met her has treated her kindly. Don't get me wrong, Ana has learned to be a strong woman over the years, but there have been some jackasses in this world that I've tried to head-off for her ahead of time. She was like a sister to me after all.

Some had taken advantage of the fact that she couldn't hear and abused the situation, like 'he who must not be named'. Ana laughed the first time I called him that, but just the mere thought of him made me grit my teeth. If Ana had allowed me to castrate him like I had planned on, at least I would have felt better by how everything turned out. But no, she had to be the bigger person and instead just poured hot coffee in his lap.

I still say he got off light, but apparently that wasn't for me to decide.

I was brought back from my inner monologue by Dr. Grace mentioning that she was expecting to see her other two children turn up relatively soon as well as her husband, Carrick. Apparently, they were all like me and had been stuck either doing something they couldn't drop at a moment's notice or were further away than just down the road and were driving in like I had done. Either way, I didn't feel like the horrible friend I had before.

After excusing myself to go get the food, I had just walked out the front doors, searching for my keys I had hastily tossed into my bag earlier, when I collided with a wall of muscle.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I totally didn't see you, I was in a rush to get inside. I should have been looking where I was going instead of trying to lock my damn truck from this far away."

Tall, muscular and tanned was babbling on about having almost run me over and all I could focus on was the way the way his lip curled slightly when he smiled.

"It's okay, I should have been watching where I was going too. Trying to find my keys in this bag is like walking around with Mary Poppin's bag. It goes in and lord knows where it goes after that." I giggled. I never giggled. Ana giggled because on her it was cute. On me it just sounded like I had the hiccups and couldn't get rid of them.

But big blue eyes just stared back at me like he was waiting for more information and so I stumbled through explaining where I was going. "I'm going to get something to eat for me and my friends." I turned and pointed at the hospital."

"My friends inside, not the whole hospital, obviously." Oh god Kate shut up, I thought. You sound like an idiot in front of a hot guy.

"I hope your friends are okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, they seem to be. They were in that explosion early this morning. But aside from some bruised ribs, broken leg and some cuts and scratches here and there, they both seem to be doing alright."

"Oh my god, my brother was caught up in the same shit. I've been racing to get here ever since my mom called to tell me he had been hurt. I'm glad your friends got out of it okay thought."

We both looked shyly at one another, seemingly trying to find another line of conversation to continue on when a car honked its horn at us to move out of the hospital drop-off lane we had been standing in. After scurrying off to the sidewalk we both laughed nervously at one another.

"Well, I guess I better get inside. My mom's going to be wondering where the hell I'm at." His smile was terrific, all white and straight, and his teeth were actually all there. It's weird the things you first notice about someone when you meet them. The way he rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from one foot to the other and don't get me started on the blue jeans he was wearing over that "take a bite out of me" ass.

"Yeah, I better get the food or my lot will be ready to mutiny by the time I get back."

As I turned to walk to my car, I couldn't help but wonder if he was checking me out from behind. Getting to my car I looked back toward the hospital entrance I had just left and yeah, he was checking me out.

I felt my cheeks heat up and my smile spread further, that's right, enjoy the view baby. I work hard on this ass.

 **EPOV**

Thank god for the coolness of the hospital because I was going to need a few minutes before seeing my brother so I could calm down. The smoking hot chick I almost body slammed in the parking lot had made it a little difficult to walk straight, if you know what I mean.

I had been working at a construction site in White Rock when my mom had called to tell me Christian had been hurt.

Christian, Mia and I had all been adopted into the Grey family. So like a lot of adopted families it had taken a while for us to warm-up to one another. Christian and I were like normal brothers mostly, getting on one another's nerves and pestering one another. We hated to share and tried hard to get the other in trouble. Normally it was me who got the blame for stuff since I was two years older, but throughout it all we had developed a really close bond. So when mom told me that there had been an explosion and that Chris was hurt, I was jumping in my truck before she finished telling me that he was alright and not to worry.

Not to worry she said. Chris isn't like me. Yeah he takes care of himself and works out and all, but Chris is more book smart, brainy even, whereas I was more tough and rugged. That's why the ladies loved me. I was like the Brawny man and Chris was like the guy you see on the front of some cheap romance novel that the ladies swoon over.

I had always taken it upon myself to be Chris's defender as we had grown-up. I could pick on Chris, but no one else was allowed to. So to hear that he was hurt, even with mom's assurances that he was alright, I needed to see for myself that he was all in one piece so that I could beat the shit out of him later for scaring everyone half to death.

As I made it up to the floor that his room was supposed to be on, I couldn't help but wish I had gotten the name of the girl I had run into outside. She was hot and she looked like she could be a lot of fun. It was a little unusual that I couldn't seem to get my brain to work long enough to ask her name, but I guess I'd have to chalk it up to bad timing.

Busting through Chris's hospital room door, I couldn't help the smirk on my face as I made him jump by my entrance.

"Shit, Chrissy. Did you have to go to these lengths to get attention," I asked as I strolled to his bedside.

Instead of addressing me, he was looking behind me and motioning with his hands. Turning around I knew exactly why he wasn't immediately cursing me out for having used his old nickname. Walking out of the bathroom was the cutest little brunette I had seen since yesterday morning.

"Ana Banana. Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes," I said and signed, as I moved forward and picked her up into a big bear hug twirling her around.

She was giggling as I sat her down and turned back to my brother, trapped in his hospital bed…and he did not look happy.

"Elliott, care to tell me how you know Ana," he said, with a scowl on his face.

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 **Short note: Don't worry. How Elliott knows Ana isn't bad.**


	6. Chapter 6

The Sound of You – Chapter 6

 **Author's Disclaimer: Thank you E.L. James for your characters. I'm just using them to fulfill my fantasy right now, thank you for creating them.**

 **Don't forget, if it's within the story and bold then it's being written instead of spoken.**

* * *

 **CPOV**

ALL HELL NO! I saw her first. How in the hell does my man-whore of a brother know my sweet Anastasia? There is no way that she is his type, nor is he hers. She likes guys like me that are sweet and charming, not ones that you've got to take a shot of penicillin just to be able to get near. I love my brother dearly, but he had better explain himself fast or bruised ribs and broken leg or not, I'm going to get out of this hospital bed and beat him with my cast.

It wasn't fair, he could hug Ana, feel her in his arms, while all I could afford to do without causing too much pain was to hold her hand and touch her face. Granted those two things were quickly becoming some of my favorite things, but I would have loved to have been able to do more like what my smarmy brother currently was doing with his man-paws.

And why was she so happy to see him?

"Dude, chill out. I met Ana a few weeks ago at the coffee house. The barista was giving her shit because she got Ana's order wrong and Ana was trying to explain how it was wrong. So of course I swooped in to save the day." It still didn't explain why he felt the need to keep touching and tickling her, making her laugh when I was so far away.

Ana freed herself from Elliott's grasp and came back to my bedside where she belonged. She reached up and tried to smooth away my frown lines from between my eyebrows and then proceeded to try to raise the corners of my mouth to make me smile. I couldn't help but to smirk with how cute she was being, which of course made her smile back at me.

See that's how it's supposed to be, I smile and she smiles at me. Not at Elliott. She proceeded to point from me to Elliott and I explained with the one sign she had already taught me for "brother". I didn't know the sign for dickhead or I would have tacked that on as well. She quickly glanced back and forth between us both before commenting on how different we are from one another.

In all of the time that we had talked I guess I had forgotten to mention that my brother and sister weren't my biological family. They had been in my life for as long as I could remember and so I rarely explained to people that we weren't related by blood. According to mom, blood didn't always have to be the definition of family and so I stopped thinking of the differences.

I proceeded to explain to her that Elliott, Mia and I were all adopted to Dr. Grace and my dad and that we'd been a family for well over 21 years. The adoption part just seemed like a moot point to us.

"Yeah, Chrissy here got the cream of the crop when he got me for a big brother, didn't you?"

His goofy grin would have been bad enough without him tacking on that annoying nickname. He was just doing it to rile me up in front of Anastasia. The wink he kept giving me whenever she would turn her back to him told me he was winding me up just to be his normal ass of a self.

He began to sign something to Ana that had her giggling which I admit made me jealous. How was it that everyone seemed to know how to talk to Ana but me? It just wasn't fair.

"Where did you learn to sign, Elliott? I couldn't keep the jealousy and amazement out of my voice as I asked and he knew it bruised my ego whenever he was better at something than I was, so again he stuck his tongue out at me when Ana wasn't looking.

"Mom would practice a lot around the house when she was first learning and I guess I just picked up a few signs here and there. Came in pretty handy once I met this little lady," he said as he wrapped an arm around Ana.

Hey watch the hands, pal! My inner monologue was ready to smack him across the room just to get him away from Ana. Had it not been for the fact that Ana was currently blushing while looking at me, I might have been more worried than I currently was at their friendship.

"Elliott was a real friend when I needed one," Ana said with a frown on her face. She turned to Elliott and signed something that made him snort with laughter.

"I second that," he said as he signed what he was saying, "the barista was a total bitch that day to you."

It was more than a little annoying that my brother was able to carry on a conversation that he could potentially leave me completely out of if he had a mind to and I didn't like that one bit.

Elliott settled into the vacant chair in the corner of my room, stretching out before reaching for the tv remote.

"Baby bro, I'm glad to see that it's just a few bumps and bruises here and there and that you made it out alive. The way mom talked, it could have been much worse than what you got. I hear Taylor got quite the nasty knock to the melon too?" He had settled on a college baseball game before looking to me for more information on the accident.

"Yeah, Taylor is next door and will probably be out of commission for the next few days both due to observation and to allow him time to relax and heal. I'm hoping they will let me out of here by tomorrow, myself. I need to get back to work."

The next thing I heard both shocked and entertained me. Ana had blown a raspberry, drawing my attention her way. The action seemed so out of character to the lady-like mannerisms she had been making and yet adorable at the same time. **You need to rest and recover as well, Christian** , she wrote on the white board. **Work will be there when you feel more up to it.** "You shouldn't push yourself so hard," she finally said aloud.

"Fat chance at getting Oliver Warbucks over here to relax for very long," Elliott chuckled as he continued to flip the channels. "The last vacation you took was what, Christmas, for a whole three hours. He was on his cell texting back and forth with his C.O.O. the whole time. Would have been worse had dad not put his foot down and told him he'd flush his phone if he made one more phone call during dinner."

I turned to Ana ready to defend myself but before I could, she placed her finger tips to my lips to silence me. "This is different," she said. "You are hurt and your body needs time to mend."

"I don't do bed rest very well. I tend to get antsy with nothing to do."

Elliott once again snorted in agreement at my understatement. Truth be told I was already itching to get out of this bed and back into some normal clothes, but my ribs were disagreeing with me taking deep breaths much less putting a t-shirt over my head.

"Plus, with Gail being here with Taylor, even if they do release me, I'm going to have a heck of a time taking care of myself at home." The more I thought about it, the worse I was feeling about my chances of surviving on my own at home.

"Why don't you just ask mom if you can come stay at the house for a few days? You know she'd be over the moon to be able to take care of her baby boy for a few days," Elliott cooed the last part to me.

"That still doesn't resolve the work issue. I have things that I need to do and you can only do but so much from a laptop." My frustration level was growing as I thought about how long exactly it was looking that I was going to be laid-up, and it wasn't looking promising.

"I could always come and sit with you during the day to keep you company if you'd like," Ana said as her cheeks once again took on that soft pink hue whenever she'd blush.

I confess that my heart might have skipped a beat at her suggestion. I had been trying to mentally come up with ways that I could get to see Ana more in the coming future. Being bed bound I was sure dating was out of the question for the next few weeks at least. So I jumped at the chance to invite her over all while trying to remain cool, "are you sure you'd want to spend all day with me? Not that I wouldn't love to have you, but I probably wouldn't be great company if I have to stay in bed all day."

"That's what most women say about you, dude," Elliott snickered causing me to pick up the magazine that had been on my bedside table and fling it at him.

Of course the action caused me to wince and gasp in pain, but it also caused Ana to jump to her feet and place her hands gently on my ribs where I had put my own hand. She was so close that I could smell her shampoo and I swear I could feel the heat radiating off of her skin against mine.

She bit down on her bottom lip, drawing my attention to her perfect mouth that I found myself suddenly mesmerized with. God what I wouldn't give to be able to bite that lip, to be able to kiss her and feel her sigh into my mouth as we breathed each other in.

"If you start dry humping her I'm leaving the room." And just like that the moment was lost. I was so grateful that Ana hadn't been able to hear that last remark made by my obnoxious brother but right now all I wanted to do was throttle him.

It was then that the door to my room came bumping open as a loaded down Kate came shuffling into the room with her arms laden down with bags of food.

"You won't believe the traffic jam the accident created. Roads are being redirected to the point you have to go around your elbow to get to your thumb, it's ridiculous."

Ana rushed around the bed to help grab bags to put them on the serving table before she dropped them and out of the corner of my eye I could see my brother stand from his seat.

Kate apparently had not realized that someone else was in the room with us because she turned to Ana and started explaining that she would have been quicker but she had bumped into this smoking hot guy outside of the hospital. "You should have seen him Ana, tall, tanned and built like a mac truck. I could have bounced a quarter off of that ass," she said as she pretended to squeeze the guys behind in her hands.

"Bad thing was that I didn't get his name," she said sadly as she began to take containers out of the bag.

"It's Elliott," my brother than spoke up, causing Kate to whip around, sending an unopened box of fortune cookies at me as I lay trapped in this bed.

Does my brother know every woman in Seattle?

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry, I know it's short. But I just thought it was a cute chapter and wanted to get it out there. This is the last day of my Spring Break from school, (I teach) and so the chapters might only come once a week from here on out.**

 **I'm really so thankful to all of the wonderful and kind reviews that I've been getting since I started this story. Your words mean the world to me. I'll probably be crushed the first time I get my first bad review, but I think everyone gets them eventually. I try really hard with each chapter so that you don't feel as though you've wasted your time reading.**

 **Let me know what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Sound of You Chapter 7**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but this idea, the wonderful characters are all the ownership of E.L. James. Thank you for allowing us to continue our fantasies with them long after the movies and books have ended.**

Errors are mine…so please forgive where you can.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed and recommended my story. It is so humbling when you hear people like your writing. You are all a God send to my middle-aged ego. LOL

 **Remember, everything in bold within the story is signed and not actually spoken.**

 **STORY SUGGESTION: Peace by Piece by Inks Inc. is an AMAZING story! Warning though, grab a huge box of tissues, you'll need it.**

* * *

 **KPOV**

"Bad thing was that I didn't get his name," I said to Ana as I continued to pull out and place containers on the dinner table in Christian's room.

Christian was handsome and all, I mean I'm not blind. I could certainly tell that Ana was downright giddy with how attracted she was to him, but he wasn't my mystery man. I bit my lip just thinking about how I wanted to get my hands on that tight ass of his. Just as my mind began to wander down the avenue of possible "happy trails", I was startled by the voice of a man I apparently didn't realize was even in the room.

"It's Elliott," he said with a shit-eating grin on his face, causing me to whip around so fast that I completely forgot that my hands were full of food. As the box of fortune cookies went flying straight towards Christian, smacking him in the chest before tumbling open into his lap, I found myself face to face with the Adonis from earlier.

If looks could melt clothing, then the way his eyes were scanning me up and down now would have left me with 3rd degree burns. That's right baby, drink it all in, I thought as I cocked my hip and casually flipped my blonde hair.

I'm not Ana. I love her, don't get me wrong, but unlike her, I have no doubts that I'm attractive. I'm not snobby about it, I just take care of myself and put effort into the way I look. I work out, so I've got curves in all of the right places. I've got a rack that would put Marilyn Monroe to shame and I can charm just about anyone with my smile. What tends to shock the hell out of guys is that even though I may look like the typical blonde bombshell, I've actually got a brain in my head. That tends to either work for or against me with guys, as they don't always know what to think of a woman that can actually contribute meaningful and useful information to most conversations.

Ana just barely beat me out for Valedictorian in college but we both graduated summa cum laude and I was looking into continuing on to get my masters in Journalism. It was my dream to be a field reporter. I wanted to travel to exotic locations and even be embedded with troops in war zones. The hotter the story, the more I wanted to be a part of it.

As Elliott was getting his fill, I confess I was checking him out just as hard. Every detail was exactly as I remembered, from the way his jeans hugged his hips, to his nicely tanned, well-muscled arms, to the way his t-shirt stretched across his chest. It wasn't until my eyes finally reached his face and he continued to grin at me before giving me a cheeky wink that it finally dawned on me what I had said when I entered the room.

Rushing over to where Ana was attempting to help Christian pick up the spilled fortune cookies, I yanked her arm, spinning her around to face me.

Ana has often said that she thinks I can sign faster than I can speak which is a good thing right now because I was about to give her an earful.

 **How could you not tell me that he was in the room? You let me go on and on about how hot he was and he was standing over there the whole time just listening to me fan-girl all over him. I'm so embarrassed. Ana, I thought we were best friends, sisters even and you didn't tell me that the hunk from earlier was standing just a few feet away?**

Ana grabbed my hands, effectively shutting me up before giving me a stern look which told me she was going to speak and I was not to interrupt.

 **Kate don't be an ass. First off, you know I'm your best friend and yes, you are my sister. You know I'd go to hell and back for you, but do not blame your hormone-driven word vomit on me. You meet men that you describe as gorgeous all the time, how on God's green earth was I to know that this one time you were talking about Elliott Grey?**

It's a wonder Ana's hands didn't cramp sometimes with how fast she signed.

I was about to respond when she silenced me again.

 **And another thing, Elliott is a great guy. Yes, that was an awkward way to meet for the first time but if it makes you feel any better, right before you walked in he was going on and on about the hot blonde he met in the parking lot.**

I smiled. Okay, yes that did make me feel better. I couldn't help the slight Cheshire cat grin I cast his way, noticing that he and Christian were both watching us intently.

 **I can only assume the blonde he was talking about was you, so hitch your big girl panties up and just own up to the fact that you stuck your foot in your mouth and move on.**

I couldn't help but sulk a little at Ana's dismissal of the situation. Was I being irrational, maybe, but we had always promised to abide by the girl code, 'besties before testes', and I felt a little let down.

 **Oh and before you say more that you might regret…Elliott can read sign language, so he might have actually understood the majority of our conversation.**

I was sure that my face was probably at least as pink as the scrubs that Ana was currently sporting before we both turned to look at a grinning Elliott as he gave us a thumbs up before signing, **only half of it.**

Ground swallow me up now, please, I thought as Ana burst out laughing. Poor Christian looked lost as he sat there trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

 **APOV**

I love Elliott. He has the best sense of humor. I don't know why I never thought to introduce him to Kate before today. He is exactly what she needs in order to lighten up her world. Elliott Grey is the perfect mix of goofball to Kate's overly stressed sensibility. She needs someone in her life that can make her laugh and yes embarrass her sometimes, but in a good way.

Poor Christian. He looked so lost watching Kate and I talk. It really wasn't fair for us to carry on a conversation that Christian and Elliott wouldn't be able to follow. Well, that he couldn't follow. I had little doubt by the continued smirk on Elliott's face that he was getting the gist of our conversation. I probably should have tried to tell Kate that Elliott could sign before she began ranting, but after she tried to blame me for her ovaries causing her to run off at the mouth, I decided to allow her to dig her own hole a little deeper.

Taking my seat again beside Christian I reached over and took his hand. "I'll explain everything, don't worry," I giggled. I couldn't stop the smile on my face from spreading more as the confused look on Christian's face was replaced with a look of pure peace as he squeezed my hand back. Why was it that whenever we touched, it seemed like neither of us could stop smiling?

Elliott got my attention before announcing that he was famished and began grabbing boxes of noodles, rice and chicken.

I retrieved one of the lo mien noodle boxes for Christian and I to share as well as the box of sweet and sour chicken and a small rice. I built two plates of food for us and placed a small hand towel over Christian's chest in case he dropped something.

His hand came up, grabbing mine and pressed it to his chest. I could tell that he was holding his breath as my hand rested against him. He loosened his grip and I raised my fingers to gently touch his face, checking to see what was wrong. His eyes just took on a dreamy glimmer as he almost seemed to snuggle into my touch.

Sitting back down I passed him his plate and fork as we all began to eat.

CPOV

She did it again. Her hand was on my chest and even though I held my breath, waiting for the searing pain to begin, it never did.

Her hand slipped from my grip and instead of pulling away she caressed my cheek. Her touch was like being brushed by satin and all I wanted was to feel more of it. My eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of her skin against mine and I had to fight hard to hold in the purr of contentment I could feel bubbling up inside me. She might not be able to hear what she was doing to me, but I had no doubt that she was still reading all of the signs that she was turning me on. There was no hiding it, I was greatly attracted to Ana.

We had been eating for about twenty minutes and although the food and company were amazing my ribs and leg were beginning to throb. I could only guess that my pain medication was beginning to wear off and no matter how hard I tried I could not find a comfortable position to sit in. I wanted badly to lie down, but I was afraid that if I drew too much attention to my discomfort, Ana might feel like she needed to leave so I could rest. I couldn't bear the idea of her leaving me.

After about ten minutes more of trying to find another comfortable position to rest in, I couldn't hide it any longer. I was hurting and apparently it was written all over my face because Ana was suddenly on her feet and rushing to the door. It was only a minute or two later before she was back followed by my nurse.

"Christian, how are you feeling?" Sally asked as she checked my IV line. "Where are you hurting most?"

I thought I was better at hiding the fact that I was hurting by apparently not, "my leg is throbbing, but my ribs seem okay. It's just my tailbone, I'm tired of sitting upright. Can I lay down a little?"

Ana had already cleared away our food and was currently hovering by my side, gently stroking my hand.

"I'm going to give you some more pain meds to help with your leg and then we will try reclining you a little. You've only bruised your ribs so as long as you aren't lying on your hurt side you should be okay to turn over a little."

I watched as she slid the needle into the IV port, injecting the pain medication before she walked over to the small closet and retrieved a long giant pillow.

We were just about to start the process of trying to arrange a comfortable position for me when my mother reentered my room. Ever the doting mother she rushed to my side to stand beside Ana.

"Dr. Grey, Christian is complaining of some positional pain, so I'm going to recline him and turn him slightly to take some weight off of his tailbone. Do you mind helping me?"

Turning to Ana mom quickly explained what they were going to do as Ana let go of my hand. It was good that I had complained of being in pain earlier because the soft whimper I had let out at having to stop holding Ana's hand could be easily mistaken for being in pain.

My mother though wasn't fooled as she gave me a knowing smile that just screamed, 'I see grandchildren in my future'.

Between my mom, Nurse Sally and even my nit-whit of a brother, I was able to turn over and have the body pillow stuffed behind me to keep me from turning over accidently if I fell asleep. By the time I was resettled and Ana had tucked me back in, I began to feel the effects of the pain medication start to kick in as my eyes began to grow heavy. But sleep meant Ana might leave and so I tried hard to fight it.

I've never been a great patient, something to which my mom could easily attest to, having doctored me throughout my childhood and adolescence. She knew I was fighting sleep.

"Sweetheart, I just talked to your doctor. He said that if everything goes alright for the next few hours that you can be discharged to go home with me if you'd like?"

That made me smile. I love to smile. Ana makes me smile. Smiling was fun. Ana has a beautiful smile. My eyes were growing so heavy.

"I'd like that mommy," I slurred as a yawn I tried to hold back came out.

"You rest now and in a few hours your dad will be here and we can go home." Mom's voice was beginning to sound so far way.

"No," I whined, "I want Ana to come home with me," I pouted. I just couldn't keep my eyes open much longer.

I heard the bestest sound in the world, Ana's giggle. "Ana," I sighed with a dreamy smile on my face.

"Ana will see you again soon, I promise sweetheart. You rest now okay."

"Oh…"

 **GPOV**

"Oh…" and right in the middle of an okay, my baby boy was fast asleep. He looked so much like my little boy at that moment even though he was a grown man. His lips puckered as he squished his face into the pillow. His light breaths were coming softly as he fell deeper and deeper into sleep. The worry lines faded as he settled into peaceful slumber.

Pain medicine always made Christian a little loopy and today was no different. I knew as he fought sleep that he'd become more and more chatty, something I hope he wouldn't come to regret later. But as I looked over at Ana who was gently brushing Christian's hair off of his forehead, I knew no matter what he would have said, she was hooked on him.

I tapped Ana's shoulder to get her attention before signing, **he'll be discharged about six. He should be asleep until around then.**

I wasn't trying to rush her off, far from it. In the short time that I had gotten to know Ana, I adored her. I was going to throttle my son if he passed up the chance to pursue this girl. In my eyes, she was perfect for him.

 **I should get home** , Ana signed. **I've got to pick up Henry from his sitter and I've got to contact Mr. Roach to find out what I need to do about work. Plus, I've got to sort out what to do about my car. Oh there's just so much to do.**

Her friend Kate was already packing up her things preparing to leave, but she had said something I just couldn't let go without knowing the answer to. Henry. Who was Henry? Did Ana have a child?

I looked her over from head to toe as she began picking up plates and boxes of food. She was old enough to have a child of course, but I just never imagined that she would have a baby. The more I thought about it, the more questions kept coming to mind.

"Kate, can you call Jose' and let him know that we will be picking up Henry soon?" she asked.

My chance to ask the elephant-in-the-room question was quickly passing me by as Ana was about to leave. I finally just decided there was no tactful way to ask it and just blurted it out.

"Who's Henry?"

Kate got Ana's attention and signed my question to her. I knew I was being a nosy mother, but that was my right, right? I mean, I liked this girl and if my son was about to get involved with a single mother then I wanted him to know that. Granted I didn't think it would make any difference to him, especially since I was certain he was already head over heels in love, even if he wasn't going to admit it yet.

Ana turned to me and explained who Henry was. To say I was shocked was putting it mildly. I'm not sure why I was shocked really, because the more I thought about it, it made perfect sense. I found myself laughing at my foolishness, to which both Ana and Kate laughed along with me.

No, my son would have no problems with Henry in Ana's life.

* * *

 **Tada! Another chapter up! I hope I'm not dragging this along too much. We are going to start doing a little more time jumping soon, once Christian and Ana's relationship is more defined. But I think I need to get them out of the hospital first before that happens. Plus, there's a few more pieces of their lives I need to explain first.**

 **Thank you for sticking with me.**


	8. Chapter 8

The Sound of You Chapter 8

 **Author Note: HA HA, I think almost all of you figured out who Henry is. I hope you won't be disappointed with him.**

* * *

 **CPOV**

 _I was running after her. Long brown hair was flowing behind her as she giggled. She always seemed to be just out of my reach no matter how fast I tried to run. She looked back at me, still running away and I was met with the most beautiful blue eyes._

 _Ana. I could hear her name in my head. She slowed, eventually coming to a stop, bent over breathing hard from having run so fast. Her laughter wasn't stopping as I finally reached her. My arms wrapped around her as she tumbled to the ground bringing me with her. My back was pressed against the cool green grass and she was perched atop of me._

 _I watched as her chest rose and fell with each deep breath she took, trying to calm down. Her laughter made me laugh. Reaching up I smoothed back her long hair from her face as she allowed my hand to continue slowly down the curves of her body._

 _She was magnificent to look at, and all I could think of was how I never wanted this to end._

 _It certainly wasn't lost on me as to where she was sitting as she straddled my body._

 _I couldn't stop myself from enjoying the feeling as she pressed herself more firmly against my lap. I knew she could feel how hard I was for her. The more she wiggled the closer I got to begging her to allow me to bury myself inside of her._

 _As she threw her head back, her long hair brushed the tops of my thighs where my shorts didn't cover and her hand guided my own to rest over one of her perfectly plump breasts._

 _My fingers found her nipple through her top and as I began to stroke it, her body reacted to my touch. The little pebble hardened and seemed to beckon me to it._

 _Her hips continued to rock and grind against me, the sweet friction causing my balls to tighten praying for more._

 _Looking into her eyes she nods slightly as my hands raise her top slowly over her head and arms. Her long locks falling gracefully back down her body. She's bare underneath and I moan softly at the sight before me._

 _Ana's breasts are perfect. Two perfect globes. Her nipples are a dusky rose pulled tight into pert little points begging for my attention._

 _Sitting upright I flick one nipple with my tongue as my hand gently massages the other._

 _Ana's hand is running through the hair at the back of my neck, pulling and tugging gently. I press my mouth against her breast, allowing her nipple to slip in between my lips and begin to suck on her perky bud._

 _She likes that as her nails begin to scratch more and more the hair at the back of my neck. Her arms wrap around my back and she holds my head to her breast._

 _I give a slight nibble to her tit and she bucks against me. My angel likes a little pain with her pleasure._

 _As one hand holds my head tightly to her breast, her other hand slides down the front of my pants and begins to fumble with the opening to my shorts._

 _The more I suckle at her breast, the more I bite her and nibble at her skin, the wilder she reacts until finally she's had enough and she reaches her hand into my shorts and grips my cock tightly._

 _Drawing my head back from her chest, my lips make a popping sound as I release the tight suction I had around her nipple._

" _Fuck me Christian," she says as she looks deeply into my eyes._

 _She certainly doesn't have to ask me twice as I quickly work to get my pants down my legs, allowing my cock to spring free._

 _Her hand wraps back around me, pumping me with each tight stroke of her velvety fingers. I have to have her now so I raise her up and she guides the head of my cock to her dripping opening._

 _Looking back into my eyes, she tells me one more time to fuck her before I slam her down onto my cock._

 _She's so goddamned tight and dripping wet. I don't know how long I will be able to make this last, but I swear I'm going to worship her every second that it does._

 _I can feel my cock pressed deep inside of her all the way to the hilt. She flexes her internal muscles which makes me gasp at the sensation. She forces my head back to her breast and I return to sucking and biting her nipple. I've always been a breast man, so this is no hardship on me. I love the way her tits bounce as she begins to ride me._

" _Harder," she begs, asking me to bite and suck her breast more. If I bite harder I'll mark her, but maybe that's what she wants, to carry my mark. The idea of that makes me impossibly harder as I continue to suck and suck on her nipple all while she is grinding and bouncing on my cock._

 _I can feel my balls drawing up and I know I won't last much longer. I don't know what she wants me to do. I want to cum inside of her, but if she doesn't want that then I need to know because I am not going to last much longer._

 _As if she can read my mind she pulls my head back from her throbbing nipple long enough to look into my eyes as she tells me to cum inside of her._

" _I want to feel your seed inside of me baby. Give me your load, bury it deep inside of me." She smashes her breast back into my mouth and as I rake my teeth over her skin I roar as I bury myself impossibly farther into her, spilling my load inside of her._

 _I feel her clit throb as she comes around my cock, her screams almost matching my own as I pound into her once, twice, three more times trying to bury the last drops of my seed inside of her._

 _Both of us are a sweaty mess as she and I both collapse to the ground. The coolness of the grass pressing against the hot skin of my back._

 _I begin to move to pull out of her when she kisses under my jaw telling me not to move. She wants to feel me inside of her. I've just cum harder than I've ever cum before and just that one request has me staying hard inside of her._

 _Ana's breathing is slowing and becoming more normal and I begin to pay more attention to the position we are in. We are both a sticky mess but neither of us wants to change where we are. Her fingers are drawing tiny designs on my chest and what normally would have terrified me and sent me into a panic attack is lulling me to sleep._

 _Just as my eyes are almost completely closed and I'm on the precipice of dreamland I hear the sweetest, most wonderful thing I never thought I'd ever hear._

" _I love you Christian."_

I jerk awake.

A dream. I'm hot like I've just run a marathon and…looking under the hospital covers I see that I've also got a large sticky, wet stain on the front of my gown. I've not had a wet dream in years.

I feel like a high schooler again, dreaming about the head cheerleader in those short little skirts.

It was then that I realized where I was and that before I fell asleep I had not been alone.

Using the bed controls I raise myself into a sitting position as quickly as possible without killing my ribs only to find my worst nightmare.

Elliott is sitting in the corner recliner with that damn grin on his face. I throw him my darkest look hoping he'll get the message not to say a fucking word.

To his credit he doesn't say anything, but what he does do is almost as bad. He holds up a piece of paper with a giant "10" on it. The little shit!

"Mom and Dad are going to be here soon to take you home. Need some help getting," he clears his throat, "decent before they get here?" He couldn't hold it in any longer and began to laugh at me.

I had a fucking wet dream and my brother was getting his rocks off by laughing at me.

"Be my big brother for just a few minutes and not your usual crude self and help me get some clean clothes on, please."

He finally begins to calm down as he goes to the small closet to retrieve a pair of sweats that mom had apparently brought in earlier. He goes into the bathroom and gets two wet wash cloths, sitting them on the rolling table next to my bed.

"Dude, I'm going to exit the room, so don't release little Christian before I'm safely behind those doors, capiche?" Before he left, he turned back around and told me to call him when I was finished and he'd bring in a hazmat bag to pick up my dirty wash cloths.

As I set about cleaning myself up, I wasn't sure how I felt about my dream. Surely it had been the pain meds that had caused me to have such a vivid imagination. I've never been one good on prescription pain meds because they always seemed to be too strong no matter the dosage. I certainly didn't think it was appropriate for me to be thinking about my sweet Ana like that, especially since we'd only known one another technically a day. But what a hell of a day it had already been.

If she ever found out about this, she'd probably think I was a horrible pervert and never want to see me again.

As I finished cleaning up, I realized that I couldn't reach down far enough to get my pants over my feet much less up my legs and so I was going to have to rely on my jackass of a brother.

Was God punishing me or something? I am a good person, what in the world did I do to deserve to have to ask my brother to help me put my pants on?

"Lelliot," I yelled as loud as I thought I'd need to for him to hear me from the other side of the door. He stuck his head back in the door, "coast clear?"

"Not exactly," I said, embarrassed to have to ask him to help me with this.

"What do you need little brother?" Elliott said as he walked to the bed.

He never called me 'little brother' unless he was ready to be serious and in this instance I was grateful for the change in demeanor.

"I can't get my pants on," I mumbled as I tucked my chin into my chest looking down at my lap, pouting.

It was moments like these that I thanked God that he had given me a brother like Elliott. All joking aside he knew I was embarrassed to have to ask for this kind of help. He very carefully pulled back the covers to the bed from my feet and gently helped me to swing around. I held the covers over my junk while he worked on getting my sweats over my cast and up to my knees. He then picked up my legs and put them back on the bed and told me to reach down and pull the sweats up as he picked up my legs. It worked surprisingly well and I didn't end up flashing him with 'little Christian' either.

We both took a short breather after this before he helped me sit up again and get my shirt on. Mom had brought an undershirt for me instead of a regular shirt so that I wouldn't have problems raising my arms so far above my head.

We had just gotten my one shoe on when my dad came through the door pushing a wheelchair, closely followed by my mom.

"We're here to spring you son," my dad said with a smile on his face.

Coming over to the bed, dad put his hand gently against the side of my neck. He stared at me for a moment before he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple.

Carrick Grey would never be accused of being an overly affectionate man, except to the women in his life. Mom and Mia were the apples of his eye, but throughout our lives if something ever happened to us boys, he always found ways to let us know he loved us.

In that moment, with that simple touch and that fatherly kiss to the head, he spoke volumes to me. He was thankful that I was alive and that he was able to see me again. My father was never much on emotions, but right then I felt like a five year old child that had been comforted by his father.

Between dad and Elliott, I was able to make it into the wheelchair and get settled. Mom had cleared everything with the doctors so that all I would have to do was to come back for check-ups, unless I took a turn for the worse.

We were going to stop next door to see Taylor and Gail before heading home when I realized that I had neglected to ask about Ana.

"Mom, when did Ana leave?"

 **GPOV**

When Carrick had finally been able to make it to the hospital he had been beside himself with worry. He had been stuck in court and had been unable to get away. He told me that the whole time all he could think of was that his little boy would be gone by the time he was able to finally be here.

He had sat in my office for over an hour trying to calm himself down once I had told him that Christian was going to be fine. When Carrick and I had decided to adopt children I just assumed that raising boys would come like second nature to us. We both had been around children all our lives and between brothers and sisters that had children we had plenty of experience. When it came to raising our own though, it was a whole new ball game.

Elliott and Christian were night and day. Elliott was wild and adventuresome while Christian was thoughtful and quiet. Elliott was barely able to pull in B's and C's in school, but if Christian brought home anything less than an A it tended to upset him so much that he'd cry himself to sleep.

It wouldn't be until Christian began seeing a therapist in his teens that we learned that his drive to succeed was linked to his fear that if he didn't come across as the perfect son, that we would end up getting rid of him. We literally had to cause him to fail at small, insignificant things, to then love him fiercely afterwards, to finally get through to him that failure, whether big or small would never make us love him less.

Watching him now, sitting in the wheelchair that Carrick pushed to the adjoining room, it made me remember the small little boy that I had found. When he asked me about Ana, it wasn't the confident CEO that asked the question, it was the little boy that was afraid of being rejected that wondered where his angel had gone.

It was moments like this that my heart would always go out to Christian. Would he ever get to the point that he wasn't constantly afraid of being rejected by someone he allowed to get close?

"Kate is going to bring her to the house later once we have you settled. She had several things she needed to get sorted out. Don't worry, she'll be there."

You could visibly see the tension leave his shoulders as I explained that Ana would return.

We stayed next door with Gail and Taylor for about an hour before deciding it was time to head home. It would take time to get Christian settled downstairs in the guest room, plus he wanted to take a bath before Ana returned.

Taylor, Christian's CPO would be staying in the hospital for at least the next couple of days for observation. So Sawyer, Taylor's second in command would be Christian's shadow for the next several days. We tried to give Sawyer the time off since Christian wouldn't be able to go anywhere in his current condition, but he wanted to be available in case he needed errands ran.

After having gotten Christian loaded into the car, Elliott followed us home to help us get him into the house and get him settled. Elliott really was showing what a good brother he could be to Christian. I knew they liked to pester one another, but deep down they would do anything for one another.

Gretchen met us at the door and I handed her the bag we had packed for Christian as we got him to the guest room bath. Thankfully, all of our baths had shower benches installed so it was fairly easy to get him into the shower and allow him to sit down to wash himself. I made sure to put everything he would need within reach and covered his casted leg with the waterproof shower bag before leaving him to his father to get him into the shower.

Going back into the bedroom I began unpacking Christian's bag and turning down his bed. Carrick came out not long after telling me that Christian wanted to just sit there and soak a little while. I couldn't blame him, he had been through a great deal today.

After about 45 minutes, Christian called out to his dad for help. A few minutes after that, Carrick came out with a fresh looking and clean Christian. He had on a set of basketball shorts and a t-shirt that he could easily slid on and off on his own, so I figured he wouldn't need much help for a while.

Carrick handed him the TV remote and after kissing my baby boy I retreated to the kitchen to make sure Gretchen had gotten supper started. Ana and Kate would be here soon and I wanted everything to be perfect.

Ana had asked if she could bring Henry along and I just couldn't say no, so I made sure to fix him an extra special treat.

Elliott kept coming into the kitchen periodically to taste test things as he put it, to make sure it was edible. I continually had to shoo him away or else we wouldn't have anything left to eat when suppertime came.

Before I knew it 8:00 had rolled around and the doorbell chimed signaling that our guests had arrived. After wiping my hands on the dish towel I walked out to greet our guests.

 **APOV**

Christian had been adorable as he had fallen asleep in the hospital. His mother had mentioned that pain medicine tended to make Christian act funny, but seeing him mumble on about how sweet he thought I was, was just too cute.

Once he had fallen asleep, Grace told me that he would be out for several hours and that if I needed to get things done, now would be the time to do it. Christian would want to see me again and she was hoping that I would want to see him too.

I didn't know how to explain to anyone this strange connection that I had with Christian. It was like I never wanted to leave his side and yet I knew I had to. There was just so much that had to be done and little time to do it in.

I first had to pick up Henry from Jose's apartment.

Henry was my best friend, we did everything together. When I had first lost my hearing I didn't want much to do with anything in the outside world. I stayed cooped up in my room because I was afraid to go out, afraid I wouldn't be able to adjust to the new world that I couldn't hear any longer.

After my mom and dad enrolled me into the Washington School for the Deaf, I learned that there was a huge world out there that was constantly changing and accommodating for those who were deaf and hard of hearing. My world was only going to be as small as I allowed it to be. So from that moment forward I resolved to live my life as normal as possible.

When I moved out on my own I took every precaution possible to feel secure in my environment. I had an alarm clock that flashed a bright light when it went off. Normally, that woke me up, but if it didn't then I wore a wrist watch that vibrated as well. If that didn't work then there was Henry. He worked every time.

Nothing will wake a person up faster than the rough tongue of a 52 pound American Akita and if for some reason that doesn't do it, he will gently grab my wrist in his mouth and begin to pull me off of my bed.

I've had Henry ever since he was a small puppy and he's been with me every day for the past three years. Henry is a certified service dog and normally went everywhere with me. It just so happened that I had decided to leave him with Jose' this morning because I wanted to see if I could do my job without needing my service animal. As much as I loved Henry, he drew a great deal of attention. When we were out, people constantly wanted to pet him. People were well-meaning and all, but you don't walk up and pet a service dog. You always ask first because they are working and petting one while they are working can be a bad thing.

Jose' was my upstairs neighbor and he agreed to keep Henry for me today while I went to work. I'm thankful that he was not with me today, I shudder to think of what might have happened had he been caught in the blast as well.

As Kate pulled up to our apartment, I rushed inside and up the stairs to the third floor to Jose's apartment. I rang the doorbell twice before Jose' answered.

"Hey girl!" he answered, pulling me into a hug before stepping back to let me in. Henry was dancing around behind him, waiting his turn. I fell to my knees, wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his thick black and white coat, breathing in his scent. I was so thankful to be back with him.

Henry sat patiently as I snuggled against him, absorbing his comforting presence.

"Oh Dios mio," Jose' said with his hand against his heart as Kate came to stand beside him.

"We've had one hell of a day today Jose', you just don't know the half of it."

Dressed in his tight, hot pink t-shirt and dark black skinny jeans, Jose' looked more like he was ready to go bar hopping than spend the day in with a giant dog. Jose's motto was, you must always dress to impress, otherwise you will depress those who see you dressed in less.

Kate sat down and told Jose' all about the accident, our stay at the hospital and my current situation with my car and job. There was so much to do to get things back to some semblance of normal that I wasn't sure where to start. All I knew right then and there was that my sweet Henry was safe because I had wanted to try independence on my first day of work.

We stayed at Jose's for a while longer before heading back downstairs to our apartment. I made a video call to Mr. Roach who explained that all of SIP was being moved to a vacant building that was being temporarily leased until the home office could be repaired and cleared to be reentered.

He told me to take the next couple of days off to rest and recover and that on Wednesday he would courier over a few manuscripts for me to work on from home. There was no need for any employees to actually come in to the new offices until the IT guys and maintenance men had all of the things moved in and set up, so basically people were working from home. This meant that at least for the next couple of days I could spend it getting to know Christian better.

The light flipped on and off in my room drawing my attention to the door where Kate stood. "It's time to go," she said while pointing to her watch. The day had flown by and it was time for us to head over to Dr. Grey's home for supper. I was anxious to see Christian again to make sure he was alright. He had been in a lot of pain when I had left him.

Grabbing Henry's 'baby' bag, we loaded up into Kate's car to make the trek across town.

Entering into the Grey's gated community was like entering into another world. Homes were often three stories high with massive yards, some with fountains in the front yard and long winding driveways.

Pulling into the driveway of Dr. Grace's home we stood in awe as we got out under the covered portico. Kate had barely gotten done ringing the doorbell when the front door popped open to show Elliott's smiling face.

Stepping down the steps, he quickly pulled me into a hug and gave Henry a scratch behind the ears before clumsily greeting Kate. "Hey," he said, while giving her a quick head nod and a smile that made his upper lip curl like Elvis. Kate did something I've rarely ever seen, she blushed and then giggled.

Rolling my eyes, I led Henry into the foyer of the house. I wasn't sure how Dr. Grace would feel about having Henry there after she actually saw him. She said she was fine with him and that she loved dogs in fact, but Henry was sometimes a force to be reckoned with. He was actually still a puppy but wasn't small by any sense of the word and he loved making friends when he wasn't working. When he was working he was all business. So it would be interesting to see which puppy would come out tonight with all of these new people around.

Dr. Grace walked into the room with a huge smile on her face and her arms open wide to greet me with a hug. Henry sat patiently at my feet, gazing up at the new person, with his tongue lolling off to the side of his mouth.

"This must be Henry," Dr. Grace said. "Do you mind if I pet him?" she asked? Few people remember that when a service dog is working you shouldn't walk up to it and try to treat it like a pet. It is on duty and as such should be respected that way. Dr. Grace understood that and asked permission before proceeding to assume she could pet him.

Once I had given the okay, Henry ate up the newfound attention as he got scratched for some time behind his ears. Jerking his head away from Grace's hand, he let out a low bark in the direction of an open doorway off the side of the foyer. Grace must have heard it too because she started moving towards the door.

I followed behind her as Henry began to drag me after his new buddy. Entering into the room, I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face at the sight before me. Sitting there on the bed, leg propped up on a mountain of pillows was a clean and freshly shaven Christian.

My breath caught in my chest as I looked at him and he stared back at me. We had only been apart a few hours and yet it felt like longer.

Suddenly, Henry's leash was yanked from my hand as he went darting across the room towards the huge king sized bed. Leaping onto the bed, Henry turned around twice before finally plopping down on the side not currently occupied by Christian.

"Does that mean that he likes me," he asked with a laugh reaching over to pet the top of Henry's head. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Christian, all six feet of him, was spread out like a male romance novel hunk waiting for a photographer to take his picture. Alongside of him was my big bear of a dog, currently on his back asking to be belly rubbed, taking up the other half of the bed.

 _Hello Ana_ , Christian slowly signed to me. _I've missed you._

I was shocked and impressed. Christian said that he didn't know how to sign when we were in the hospital together.

"I've been able to pick up a few key phrases while I waited for you to come back," he said as he showed me the iPad sitting on the bedside table. He had apparently searched YouTube and had been watching videos to learn some basic signs. I was truly touched.

 **CPOV**

By the blush and smile on Ana's face when I signed hello and her name I could tell that I had done the right thing by trying to learn some basic sign language. I loved to see her smile.

I had heard the doorbell ring and figured it had to be her and Kate coming over for supper. I hadn't had much time after my shower to learn much, but the video on 25 Basic ASL Signs for Beginners at least seemed to impress her.

I had anxiously waited for Mom to show Ana into my room when she got here but it seemed to be taking forever. I never expected the first thing to come through that door to be a huge ball of panting fur, racing to claim space on my bed, but the dog was beautiful.

"His name is name is Henry," Ana said as she showed me how to sign his name.

I proceeded to pet the massive dog to which he turned over and stretched, showing me his belly that just begged to be rubbed.

 _He's so b-i-g,_ I signed. "He must practically drag you everywhere you go," I laughed as Ana smiled back.

Henry's tail was thumping happily against the bed as we both scratched him. He was eating up the attention.

"You said you didn't know how to sign?" Ana said slowly as she smiled, a beautiful blush dusting her cheeks.

"I wanted to learn for you," I explained as my own cheeks began to heat in embarrassment.

The electricity returned just as it had in the hospital as Ana reached over and took my hand in hers. I swear her smile did things to my heart that I had not felt in forever.

Just as I was about to ask her what she had been up to, I heard the main door open suddenly and one of my favorite voices could be heard calling my name.

"Christian Trevelyan Grey, where are you?"

Like a small little gray-haired tornado, in stormed one of my favorite people in the whole world, Nana Grey.

Pointing Ana's attention towards the door and the newest arrival, Nana rushed as quickly as her body would allow her to my side as she gently held my face in her hands.

"Young man, you nearly scared your grandmother to death. You've really got to stop doing that."

I accepted the kiss to both my cheeks before Nana's attention was suddenly drawn to the angel at my side.

Nana's eyes widened in surprise and I was about to introduce Ana to her when she surprised me instead, "Annie, what in the world are you doing here?"

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 **Author's note: Hope the longer chapter makes up for taking so long to update. I'll try to have another chapter out soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

The Sound of You: Chapter 9

 _ **Author's Note: Some of you were asking about what Henry looked like. Well look up Kal, Henry Cavill's dog and you'll see a picture of what my Henry looks like. One of my actual dogs is a beagle and he is named Henry, (the other is named Bozworth 2). But beagles don't work well as service dogs, so I went bigger.**_

 _ **Also, a few asked about Ana's sign name. I will work that into the story, so keep an eye out for that.**_

 _ **It is officially summer break for me from school, so I hope to have these stories of mine updated far more regularly. Thank you so much for sticking with me during the long break.**_

* * *

 **CPOV**

How the hell is it that everyone in my family knows Ana but me? Was I really so much a recluse that I never ran into the same people that they did? Now my own grandmother knew Ana before me?

I watched as Nana eagerly made her way around the foot of my bed towards Ana, drawing her in to a big hug. She caressed Ana's face and spoke slowly and clearly to her, just as I had been told to do, so that she could read her lips. It was hard to believe Ana could make out anything with the massive grin Nana was sporting. You would think it had been ages since she last saw Ana, which only left me with more questions than answers.

"Nana, how do you know Ana?" It was killing me to know how I had been left out of the loop of getting the chance to meet my angel before today.

"She volunteers at the library on Wednesdays and Fridays, which just so happens to coincide with your grandfathers physical therapy treatments." Nana pulled Ana down to the edge of the bed to face her so that Ana could see what I was saying as well. "So while he's at the rehab clinic, Andrew takes me to the library to check out the latest selection of books. I met Ana there one day when I was browsing and I stopped to ask her opinion on the new E.L. James series."

Ana was now blushing and shaking her head as Nana continued to explain how they met.

"She told me that the books were wonderful if you were looking for an unconventional relationship between two young people, but that they weren't for the faint of heart." Both Nana and Ana couldn't control their giggles now and I was waiting to figure out what I had missed that was so funny.

"And you said that you'd heard they were mommy porn and wanted to see if they were hot enough to teach you a trick or two in the sack with your husband," Ana said before laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

I choked on a laugh as I rolled my eyes at my grandmother's antics. That definitely sounded like something that would come out of my grandmother's mouth. At times she was like Sophia from that old t.v. show The Golden Girls, she had no filter. It could be extremely funny but also extremely embarrassing at times.

Both ladies continued to laugh until my mom came to the bedroom door. I just shook my head as mom regarded them still laughing at their private joke.

Grandmother pointed to mom at the door, shifting Ana's focus before she began to speak.

"Supper will be ready in just a few minutes. I wanted to check with Ana to see if what I had prepared for Henry was alright before I set it out."

Ana rose to leave but not before leaning over and kissing me on the cheek and telling me she'd be back.

I could feel my face flush with heat as I watched the gentle sway of her hips as she followed my mother out the door. Apparently, I was watching too long because Nana cleared her throat to draw my attention back to her.

The cheerful grin from earlier was gone and in its place was a look of complete seriousness. "Christian, I'll only say this once because you know I adore you, but that girl is not a one-night stand kind of girl. If you have any kind of love-her and leave-her kind of thoughts, well then just put them off right away."

I couldn't believe my grandmother thought I would do that to a woman. That was Elliott's thing, not me. Granted, I wasn't one typically for romantic relationships, but I didn't use and dump women.

"Nana, I really like Ana, so you haven't got anything to worry about. If she lets me, I'd like to be able to see where this could go. She's wonderful." I couldn't help the silly grin that crossed my face whenever I thought or spoke of Ana.

"Look," I said as I picked up my iPad to show her the ASL lesson I had been watching, "I'm even trying to learn ASL so that she and I can speak easier."

You could almost see my Nana's heart swell with pride as she pat my cheek lovingly, "you really are a sweet boy," she said as her eyes misted over with unshed tears.

"I'm going to go check to be sure your grandfather got settled in and see if Grace needs any help. So you get back to studying hard for that girl. She's more than worth it."

As I watched my Nana shuffle out the door to the living room I couldn't help but agree with her, Ana was quickly turning into someone very close to my heart. Normally, this feeling would scare me to death and likely send me running. But with Ana, I did want to run, straight into her arms if she'd let me.

I restarted the video I had been previously watching as the big bear of a dog that demanded to share half my bed began to snore away beside me.

 **APOV**

I couldn't believe that Nana Grey was Christian's grandmother. I adored that woman. She was like the grandmother that I never had. She was always so happy whenever she saw me and gave me the biggest hugs.

I guess I should have put two and two together - there aren't many people with that last name after all – but I just didn't make the connection. As I followed Grace to the kitchen we passed a wall of picture frames that caught my attention. It was like a miniature timeline of the Grey family, from wedding photos to birthdays and Christmases to graduations, there didn't seem to be a milestone that didn't have a picture associated with it. It was fascinating to watch Christian grow up in pictures.

What must have been his first family photo showed a beaming Carrick, Grace and Elliott with a solemn looking Christian all seated together at a piano for Christmas. Next came a photo of Carrick sitting on a blanket with Christian in his lap, holding a bag of bread crumbs as Elliott tossed handfuls in the air to the awaiting birds. Picture after picture you could see the light forming in Christian's eyes and finally a smile appearing on his face. The picture that truly stole my heart was of Mia fast asleep in her crib with a six year old Christian snuggled up close to her, his tiny little arms holding her close and his eyes closed in peaceful slumber. Grace patted my arm to draw my attention to her before explaining what I was so captivated by.

"When we found Christian," she paused to compose herself, "when we found Christian his mother had just passed away and he hadn't eaten for days. The officer that found him said that he had been curled up to her body attempting to keep her warm because she was so cold."

I covered my mouth to stop the gasp I was sure had already slipped out.

"When we were allowed to bring him home he never spoke. His doctor called it selective mutism because there wasn't anything physically wrong with him. But no matter what, he refused to respond to anything verbally." Her fingers slowly traced the images of young Christian in several of the pictures as she continued to explain. "He would grunt and point when he wanted something and when his temper spiked he'd lash out fiercely, but he never said a word otherwise. It wasn't until DSS called to ask us about taking on Mia that we saw a true change in him."

I looked over the wall of photos, each one showing a more and more expressive Christian, not only with his parents but with his brother and sister. One picture showed a timidly smiling Christian holding to the handlebars of a bicycle as Carrick crouched into the picture behind him. Another showed Elliott and Christian peaking over the edge of the pool at whomever was capturing their antics. The next showed a five year old Mia chasing after the bubbles that Christian was patiently blowing into the air for her to catch. The last picture is what really drew my attention. It showed a much younger, but still beautiful Grace scrunched onto a toddler bed next to a thoroughly tousled Christian.

"That was the first night he really accepted any real comfort from either me or Carrick after one of his awful nightmares." I watched as Grace slowly traced Christian's tiny form that was curled up tight against her chest.

"I didn't know it until later that Carrick had taken the picture. He said he just couldn't allow me to miss it just because I was exhausted," she chuckled.

"Christian had been waking up every night that week with blood curdling screams and pleas for someone to stop hurting him." I didn't have to be able to hear to know remembering those nights was painful to Grace.

"He would be drenched in sweat, his face covered in tears. Sometimes he'd be sobbing so hard he could barely catch his breath. As a mother you never want to see your children in pain, especially when you realize how helpless you are to stop it. He just wouldn't allow us to hold him, to drive the nightmares away."

 _What changed that night then_ , I signed.

"He came to me," she said as the tears that had been building during the telling of the story finally slipped down her cheeks.

"It was probably two or so in the morning and I woke up to his little hand brushing the hair out of my face. Up until that moment Christian had not said one word to us. Nothing we tried could seem to get him to speak to us, even just one word. But that night, he spoke to me and it broke my heart."

I felt on the edge of my seat to hear the next part to the story that was Christian, what could he have said that so moved his mother.

"His little voice cracked when he spoke and these big fat tears fell down his cheeks when he finally said, 'Mommy, I scared alone.'"

I couldn't stop the small sob that escaped my lips. Christian confessed to his mother that he was scared to be alone and was finally reaching out for comfort. I couldn't possibly imagine that joy and relief Grace must have felt in that moment after so long of wanting to help her little man.

"I slowly took his hand in mine and swore to him that he would never be alone again. I explained that I wanted so badly to keep his nightmares away and to hold him and love him like a mommy should, but that I knew sometimes touch hurt him and that I would never want to hurt him, ever."

We were both openly crying now as Grace retold the story of how Christian finally reached out for help.

"It shocked me to no-end when he began to climb into the bed with me. I never would have expected that from him, but he had this look of determination on his face that night. It was like he realized that he had to get out of his own way in order to be able to move forward. He snuggled against my chest and reached and took my hand and placed it over the back of his legs. His teddy bear was squished between us, but I could feel his breath on my neck as he tried to calm himself down. This was all so far outside of his comfort zone. I remember lying so still, whispering how he was safe and that I'd never hurt him, all while keeping my hands exactly where he placed them."

I was stunned to learn that Christian has touch issues. Even though we had only known each other a very short-time, I had been able to touch him without any problems. So to hear his own mother explain how he would cry out in pain whenever she or Carrick, or any other adult for that matter touched him was a complete shock.

I wanted to ask more questions about Christian as a child, but Grace's attention was suddenly drawn towards the front of the house. Following her gaze, I saw that a young woman had entered carrying far too many bags for her petite frame to possibly manage as both Carrick and Elliott rushed to her side to relive her of the heavy cargo.

She was about my height, petite, with shoulder length blond hair with darker roots. Her features were a bit more exotic and her complexion a beautiful honey coloring; there was no doubt about it, this must be Mia.

I stayed in my spot, not wanting to interrupt the happy reunion between Mia and her parents. I watched as Grace and Carrick both lovingly hugged their youngest, welcoming her back home. Lost in my voyeurism of the happy family, I didn't realize Kate had come up alongside me until she gently hip-checked me to gain my attention.

 _You okay_ , she signed.

I quickly explained that Grace had been telling me about Christian as a small child and how heartbreaking the story was as I wiped under my eyes to be sure my make-up hadn't smeared.

I stopped signing when I realized we were being joined by Grace and her daughter.

"Ana," Grace signed and spoke, "this is my daughter Mia. Mia, this is Anastasia Steele. This is the young woman that was trapped with Christian during the parking explosion. She kept him calm until help could arrive."

Grace made it sound like I did far more than I actually did, and truth be told I should have argued that nothing I did wasn't something anyone else would have done in a similar situation but before I had the chance to, Mia had latched on to me in a massive hug. You wouldn't have thought that someone so small would be able to practically strangle someone in a bear grip of a hug, but she was currently squeezing the life out of me.

I knew she was speaking because I could feel the vibrations from her chest and feel her jaw against my shoulder moving, but I of course had no clue what she was saying.

"Mia, sweetheart, remember what I told you about speaking to Ana," Grace said gently to her daughter.

Mia blushed furiously before she began to apologize over and over again for her mistake.

I tried hard to explain that it was no big deal that it happens all the time even with people who have known me for ages, but she still seemed to feel she needed to make it up to me.

Grace told me to go ahead and grab a seat at the table since it was time to eat as Mia pulled me along to the massive dinner table, before pulling out an empty seat and motioning for me to sit down beside her. Kate followed, grabbing a seat directly across from me with Elliott grabbing the seat right beside her. Nana Gray and her husband Theodore both took seats down from Elliott, completely filling their side of the large table.

I realized then that the seat beside me sat depressingly empty as Mia drew my attention back to her. I tried to focus on what she was saying, but all I could think about was if it would be rude of me to ask to go eat with Christian in his room since he couldn't be out here with us.

It wasn't until I felt the slightly wet nose of Henry against my hand that caused me to turn and I was greeted with a sight that made me grin from ear-to-ear. There in the chair beside me, propped up with half a dozen pillows was Christian. I couldn't stop the sigh of relief I felt seeing him even though we had only been apart for less than fifteen minutes. I confess my heart definitely skipped a beat at what happened next.

 _Miss me?_ , Christian signed.

I blushed as I realized I couldn't stop smiling. He had signed what he wanted to say to me. Christian had told me in the hospital room that he didn't know how to sign, so my heart fluttered to realize that Christian was trying to learn ASL.

 _Always_ , I signed slowly for him in response before speaking my answer.

Our moment was interrupted when Henry dashed from my side, heading straight for the front door. Christian explained that the doorbell had chimed signaling that there was a visitor. Since the Grey's had a housekeeper they all remained seated as they waited for whomever it was to be announced. The housekeeper Gretchen returned shortly, followed by an older, sophisticated blonde woman that kept attempting to dash around her as though she was not walking fast enough for her liking.

Being deaf is not always the disadvantage that most think it is, often I have the ability to read a situation faster than someone can explain it to me. Body movements, facial changes, even breathing patterns can tell you a lot about what someone thinks of another person. Glancing around the room analyzing the reaction of the Grey's it was easy to see that this newcomer was not exactly a welcomed guest.

Nana Grey was taking long sips from her wine glass, in fact if she wasn't careful she would be finished with her first glass before the meal even began. Carrick's smile was tight across his face and nowhere near as relaxed and natural as it had been whenever he laughed with different members of his family. Elliott was rearranging his cutlery and looking anywhere but at the newly arrived guest and Mia was very interested in her nails at the moment.

Perhaps the most obvious sign that this new guest was not someone everyone was pleased to see was when Christian reached down and gently grasped my hand. Instead of stopping there he placed our combined hands on top of the table for anyone that wanted to see.

As I had been taking in the scene around me, Grace had been introducing everyone to the woman and apparently now it was my turn.

If I wasn't certain before, I was absolutely sure now, this woman was used to causing trouble. I could see it in the way she looked at me as she addressed me, glancing over my clothes and hair as though she were analyzing my worth.

As she extended her delicate hand to me, with her overly manicured nails glittering in the dining room light, I felt a sense of dread wash over me making me shiver as she purred out her introduction to me, "Hello darling, I'm Elena Lincoln."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thank you for sticking with me. Although I love reviews, I'm not saying this to beg for them….I wasn't as sure about this chapter as I had been in the past ones. So even though it was a rough one for me to write, I hope you enjoyed it. Just ride it out with me till the next one. I've only got three more characters to introduce I believe and then we can begin to plug along with the direction of the story. I've got it all planned out….so thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: The Sound of You**_

 _ **Author's Note: Thank you EL James for your characters. Sorry about any errors, I try to catch them, but grammar isn't my strongest point. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

* * *

 **ELPOV:**

Part of me hated this side of "friendship", the obligatory duties one must make in order to keep up the outward appearances of closeness with another person. But here I sit, in the car heading towards Grace Grey's home so that I can express my relief that her son Christian is going to be fine after his accident.

Christian. Now that's one person I wouldn't mind experiencing closeness with. He's truly beautiful from head to toe. Just the right amount of muscles without it being obnoxious, a perfect ass that just begs to be squeezed and a mouth so beautiful that it was meant to be doing naughty things to a woman. His older brother Elliott wasn't bad looking either, but he had a wild streak in him that was dangerous to attempt to break. Christian on the other hand, he could be molded if I could get my whip on him. If given enough time, I could break him and then he would be mine.

Just picturing him strapped down to my whipping bench, completely naked, his beautiful back marred red with whelps had me growing wet.

"Ma'am we are here," my driver said as we came to a stop under the portico at the Grey house.

"Well then open the damn door." I couldn't hide the disgust from my voice, nor should I. What did he think I was paying him for, it certainly wasn't for the mediocre fucking he provided me whenever I wanted to feel a cock between my legs. At best, he was a decent standby until I could finally convince Christian to give me a try.

I had been dropping subtle hints around him for years but he still wasn't biting. Yes, Christian would enjoy being bitten, I just know it. I don't know how many times I'd put my hand on his thigh or run my fingers through his hair so he could familiarize himself with my touch. I was beginning to worry that he might have performance issues we'd have to deal with since he never once gave any indications of getting hard when I touched him. So odd, most men melt at my touch and beg to fuck me.

Well, I'm sure today will be different. From the information that I gained from the nurse at the hospital, Christian is badly banged up from his little mishap this morning and will need some tender loving care once he returns home. That good-for-nothing body guard of his is still in hospital having gotten his brain jiggled around a bit. He'll need some help at home and that is where I come in. I'd even endure giving him a sponge bath as long as I got some show of appreciation later.

Climbing out of the car, I quickly adjusted my breasts that were beautifully on display in my new La Perla bra, making sure that my cleavage was deep enough to be suggestive but not reading to pop out of its confines. I certainly didn't want that husband of Grace's getting any ideas, he was definitely not my type. He was almost as old as my own husband. I already had a California raisins at the house, I didn't need more dried fruit hanging around. No, I wanted someone young and virile like Christian, who I knew could actually last a few rounds in the sack without the aid of a little blue pill.

After having rung the bell, the maid Gloria was it – really who cared – led me into the house. She took my coat and bag and laid it down on the couch, much to my distaste after I made it clear that I didn't have time to wait for her to put it away before she led me back to the family as was normal protocol. Instead she led me back to the kitchen area where the family apparently had just sit down to eat.

Grace has a lovely dining room, I really don't understand why she insists on slumming it with the help by eating in the kitchen where the maid is constantly underfoot.

Walking into the kitchen I expected to see smiling happy faces, but instead I receive a rather cold greeting. I can't imagine what the cause of it would be until Grace has introduced me to everyone, including the two newcomers to the table. They must be the reason Carrick is currently smiling at me as though he has recently had a Botox injection. Mia and Elliott, always the embodiment of good manners are both avoiding eye-contact with me, apparently they can't stand the new company either.

"Grace, darling," I offered a double kiss to my dear friend in greeting.

Grace came from old money and really married beneath her when she and Carrick eloped in Paris, but she's done the best she could to raise him to her social status. I would have said that the rushed marriage was due to an unwanted pregnancy, but the poor dear had to have a hysterectomy when she was only 17 years old due to ovarian cancer, so that was never going to be a problem. In a way I envied her for that. Until two years ago when I finally went through menopause, my life was constantly being burdened by having to arrange for birth control methods to avoid ruining my body with that of a growing vermin inside of me.

As Grace I greeted Grace's mother and father, from the corner of my eye I noticed the little blond girl - who really needed a visit to the cosmetics counter for some assistance in knowing what she was doing - was doing something with her hands, to which the brunette was paying very close attention to before she herself did something similar in response.

Grace's voice drew my focus back as she introduced the brunette as, "Ms. Anastasia Steele."

The only polite thing to do would be to offer my hand to her in greeting, so I made sure to turn my hand palm downward so she would be allowed to see not only my perfect manicure, but also the four carat ruby I had just purchased that glittered just right under the light.

I don't know why it concerned me to know if she was impressed by me or not, but what did quickly draw my attention was where her other hand was currently placed.

On the table, in plain view and might I add against proper rules of etiquette, was her hand entangled with Christian's as though she was trying to convey a message to me. Well two could play at that my dear.

"Hello darling, I'm Elena Lincoln," I purred in my most alluring voice. This little tart needed to learn who she was dealing with from the start, I was not having someone move in on Christian when I finally had him where I wanted him.

"I'm Ana," she mumbled as her meaty paw gripped my hand so tight I was certain to have a bruise tomorrow.

I had to resist the urge to wipe my hand off on the napkin in front of me once she released me, but instead continued to inquire as to whom she was to the family.

"How do you know our Christian dear?" Grace took that opportunity to jump in and explain that Ana and Christian had both been involved in the explosion together and that they had been practically inseparable since then.

"How charming," I offered as I quickly grabbed what I assume must be Grace's chair and pulled it close to Christian so that I would be able to touch him.

In his current state he really was a specimen of manliness. His beautifully muscular arms were on full display with the shirt he was wearing and his shorts were loose enough that I could easily slide my hand through the legs to caress any part of him he wanted massaged. Granted the cast was a bit clunky, but that just meant that I'd be doing the riding for a while, which was fine.

I was so close to touching his muscular thigh that I could practically feel the hair on his leg when I was forced to yank my hand back for fear of being savaged by a hideous beast that decided to make himself known.

I clutched my almost mangled hand to my chest.

"A dog," I tried to hold in my disgust as I addressed Grace, "you got yourself a dog?"

"No, he's Ana's service dog, Henry," Christian said with a huge smile on his face before leaning over and kissing Ana's cheek.

The huge mutt's head was currently resting on the spot that I had previously attempted to touch on Christian's leg like he was some sort of guard dog of the human body. He continued to watch me as Christian stroked his big head, which was making me exceptionally nervous. I don't tend to get along well with animals and it would seem that this creature was certain that I was up to something with the way he wouldn't leave Christian's side.

"Why would Ana need a service dog?" I sincerely inquired. "What's wrong with you dear?"

"Nothing is WRONG with her…dear," Abigail Grey piped up from her seat next to Carrick. Until just then I had practically forgotten that she was even in the room.

"Ana has difficulty hearing some things and she has Henry to aid her in day-to-day life, if you must know. There most certainly is nothing WRONG with her."

There was no mistaking the offense that was dripping from Abigail's voice as she explained poor Ana's defect.

"I meant no offense, Abigail. I have just never met anyone that required a service dog before and was curious as to the reasoning behind such a need."

"Does she take him everywhere she goes," I turned and asked Grace as she finally found a seat to join us at the table with.

"It's very rude to talk about someone, especially when they are right in front of you," little Miss Mia decided to snootily chime-in. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

I confess I was a bit flustered. How exactly do you talk to someone who can't hear you?

"Talk directly to her, she can read your lips," darling Christian suggested before bringing their clasped hands to his lips.

Well, this should be entertaining if nothing else.

"Did…you…understand…me…when…I…introduced…myself…earlier? I'm…Elena…" I couldn't help rolling my eyes, carrying on a conversation with her would take forever.

"Elena Lincoln, I know," Ana shocked me by speaking. "You are a friend of Grace's. You work with her on the Coping Together fundraiser she throws every year to help children of abuse and neglect."

"Been talking about me, Grace darling?" I smiled adoringly at Grace who always seemed to enjoy dropping my name those around her.

"Mom just said all of that when she was introducing you to Kate," Elliott sneered, looking at me with such disgust. "Mom just told you Ana reads lips, she heard all of it. And stop talking to her so slowly, she's not an idiot. She can easily keep up with you, you geriatric hag."

To say I was shocked by Elliott's uncalled for outburst would be putting it mildly. Instead of staying and giving me my justified apology he threw down his napkin and stormed out of the kitchen through the back patio doors.

"Well, I have never been spoken to in such a rude manner before."

"That's cause you ain't listening," someone mumbled something from beside Carrick, but I was too upset to decide whom said what.

"Grace, I have no idea what has gotten into your children, but I would think you would have better control over them than this." I couldn't hide the disgust from my voice as I addressed Grace, nor should I have to. I was the one who was wronged here and she needed to make amends for it.

"Perhaps it is time that you leave, Elena." Grace was addressing me. Me! As though I were the guilty party in all of this. I was the one who was offended here, I was the one who deserved to be treated better. I was a guest in their house for heaven's sake and I was being treated like a pariah or something.

Carrick practically jumped from his seat once Grace announced her desire that I depart the house. "I'll get your coat for you, Elena."

Well I was never one for staying somewhere I am not welcomed to be, so I rose from my seat and cast them all a hasty goodbye before heading towards the front door where I'm sure Carrick would be waiting with my coat.

As I slipped on my coat I felt it necessary to remind Grace of the proper protocol regarding guests in the home, "Grace, I cannot imagine what you were thinking allowing that girl to bring that dog into your home. He will destroy everything, and don't get me started on the shedding. And why were your children so hostile towards me?" I searched through my bag to retrieve my sunglasses, "I've been nothing but congenial towards them and yet they are vicious to me whenever I see them."

 **GPOV**

If I didn't get this woman out of my house soon, I was willing to sick Henry on her. Although, from the little time I've been around him he seems more like a massive teddy bear than anything even remotely dangerous.

How dare she speak to my children like that, and to half the gall to attempt to touch Christian without his say so was just a step too far. Everyone knows if you aren't family that Christian is very uncomfortable with being touched. If he doesn't initiate it, then you are to keep your hands to yourself. I'll have to remember to give Henry an even bigger dinner portion than I had originally planned since he was able to intervene before Elena was able to feel-up my son.

Mother has never been a fan of Elena since she and I were younger because of how much trouble she was able to cause, which ultimately tended to become my troubles as well, so it was no surprise that she was openly hostile to her from the start.

I honestly wasn't certain what would cause Elliott to become so openly rude to someone, but it seemed as soon as she walked into the room he shut down. He wouldn't even look up when I addressed him, mumbling his answers when his grandmother spoke to him. Something was wrong there and I was going to find out what.

But what became the final straw that had me wishing I could physically cast her from my home was the way that she addressed Ana. I have never been so appalled by someone's bad manners in my life, and Elena normally has excellent manners.

She was treating Ana as though she were slow-witted or something with how slowly she was speaking to her. I have no idea how to apologize enough to Ana for my supposed friend's behavior.

Following Elena to the door I never expected to be berated for my grown children's behavior, nor was I expecting to be condemned for the manner to which I kept my house and what I did or did not allow in it.

The only thing that made the moment even remotely better was that at just the moment I was ready to give Elena a piece of my mind was when Henry decided he was going to make sure Elena knew she was not welcomed. It all happened so quickly I wasn't prepared to try to stop it. Suddenly Henry rushed passed me, barking loudly, heading straight for Elena, to which she turned and high-tailed it through the open door that Carrick was currently holding open.

"You keep that mangy mutt away from me. He is a lawsuit just waiting to happen," she screeched.

I grabbed hold of Henry's collar just before he was able to pass through the open door and even closer to Elena, "I'm sure he was just needing to go out and saw the open door as his exit. He's harmless, Elena. But if you feel threatened by him, then I will certainly understand if you choose not to come around the house anymore."

The look of shock on her face was priceless. Yes, I was choosing a dog over her and she couldn't believe it.

By the time she was able to regain her composure Ana had come and retrieved Henry from me telling me she was going to take him out the back for a few moments for a break.

I stood there in the doorway of my home watching my oldest friend turn and flee from my mom and I couldn't seem to find it in myself to be worried about her feelings. In fact, I was actually glad she was gone.

Carrick's strong arms around me confirmed my suspicions that he too was glad to see her leave. How could someone like her with all of her wealth and influence still continue to be such a truly miserable person.

"I don't know why you continue to befriend her, Grace," mother said from the kitchen entrance. "She's always been a bad influence on you, always attempting to drag you down to her level."

Walking to my mother I wrapped my arms around her and held her close, "Maybe I was just trying to give her a taste of what a good upbringing was like in the hopes that some of that might rub off on her instead of the other way around."

I walked back into the kitchen with my arm around my mother, wishing somehow we could just forget hurricane Elena.

"Well, now that everything is practically cold, why don't we eat," I said as Carrick and mother retook their seats. Glancing at the patio doors I could see Elliott and Ana talking as Henry sniffed bush after bush in the yard.

Poor Christian looked lost without Ana beside him. He wasn't focused on the food in his plate, but rather than young woman currently hugging his brother. If he had been more mobile, I'm sure he would have been rushing out the door to find out what had caused the display.

 **EPOV**

My chest felt like it was being sat on by an 80 ton elephant, my ears were ringing and I swear if I opened my mouth I might vomit all over mom's kitchen table. The more that woman talked the more I knew I had to get away from her. She is a vile human being and her mere presence makes me nauseous. How mom can continue to be friends with her is beyond me, doesn't she know what kind of woman she is?

No, that's right, she doesn't know, because I allowed Elena to convince me that if I told that it would be me who got into trouble, not her. That my mom would never believe me over her. To this day, my skin crawls whenever I think of what almost happened and what did happen.

I had to get out of that room or else I might do something I've never done before and that's physically harm a woman.

"Mom just said all of that when she was introducing you to Kate," I couldn't seem to reign in the amount of venom I wanted to spew at that woman.

"Mom just told you Ana reads lips, she heard all of it. And stop talking to her so slowly, she's not an idiot. She can easily keep up with you, you geriatric hag."

I knew I had gone too far, the rage inside of me was boiling over and if I stayed put I wasn't going to be able to hold back everything I had ever wanted to say to that woman since I was 16 years old. So instead I stormed out of the house, praying that fresh air would allow me to calm down enough to be able to rejoin my family soon.

I hated that Kate saw me like that. There was no way that I would be able to explain what happened in there to anyone much less to her. She probably thinks I'm bipolar with how easily I snapped in there, but if she knew the truth it would be much worse. She'd never look at me the same way again. I had just met her, she would think I was filthy if she knew the truth.

Sitting down on one of mom's Adirondack chairs I watched the waves of the sound as it lapped up against the pier. My anger was slipping from me just as I was hoping it would, but instead of making me feel better all it was making me feel was hollow inside.

I was feeling like shit, like the weight of everything was suddenly on my shoulders. I didn't know how long I sat there, holding my head in my hands, racking my brain for the right thing to do until I was suddenly comforted with the kiss of a big hairy dog that slid his head into my lap offering comfort.

I didn't have to look up to know who would be there. In the short time I knew her she always seemed to have a knack for showing up when I needed to talk, so I shouldn't have been surprised when it was Ana that sat down in the seat next to me.

"You want to tell me what happened back there?"

The look in her eyes was only concern for me. Not anger or judgment because of my behavior, just concern and in that moment I knew I had to tell someone the truth. It hurt too much to hold on to it anymore. Why did I choose Ana? I could come up with a million different excuses, but in all honesty the only one that seemed to matter at that moment was the fact that she offered me nothing but friendship with no conditions. She was just a good person wanting to help. I needed that right then.

"You'll never believe me," I started off.


	11. Chapter 11

The Sound of You: Chapter 11

 **Author's Note: First off, thank you so very much for all of the reviews. To those of you who have asked, I love happy endings, so don't worry.**

 **WARNING! Graphic content. Not for the faint-hearted or for anyone who has experienced personal violations in their lives or of those they love. I'm just telling the story….if you want to skip this chapter, then I certainly understand. Otherwise, you are fair warned.**

* * *

 **APOV**

"You're never going to believe me."

Why is it whenever someone says that, it automatically tends to put people on the defensive? Whether it is the person telling the story or the person hearing it, it's almost like both parties are wanting to rush to the ending to either prove the other right or wrong.

I had no doubt that whatever Elliott wanted to tell me was the absolute truth, he had never lied to me before so why should he start now.

I also knew that whatever it was he wanted to tell me was big. So big in fact that he was worried about it changing how I felt about him. Looking up at me he had big fat tears pooling in his eyes, a blink away from spilling over.

Taking his hand in mine I did the best I could to convey that I was there for him, no matter what.

"Just tell me. We'll figure out how to deal with what comes next together."

 **EPOV**

In the short time I've known Ana, one thing has always remained certain, Ana is loyal to a fault. That and she wears her heart on her sleeve. You can tell exactly what Ana is thinking just by looking at her, she can't hide her emotions at all.

So looking at her now, I knew she felt certain what she was saying was true. I just hope she was as certain after it was all said and done.

Taking a deep breath I plunged forward with my story.

"I was sixteen when it happened. Mom had decided to throw a pool party for my birthday since I had kind of out grown the whole traditional birthday cake and balloons bit."

Ana's smile let me know she was following along with my story easily enough. I knew if she didn't understand something I said she would stop me and ask me to sign it to her. I prayed she wouldn't need me to. Saying this out loud was hard enough much less having to sign something of this out. But I would if she needed me to, lord knows it was the least I could do after burdening her down with this shit.

"There was this girl that I was really in to at school named Amanda. I was dying to get a chance to get some time alone with her; but with friends and parents and of course Christian and Mia were both there, there just never seemed to be an opportunity to get her alone."

Picturing it all now it seemed so long ago and yet I was able to remember it like it happened yesterday. Even now I could feel my stomach begin to churn as though I wanted to throw-up, but I knew that wouldn't help anything. It never did.

"Finally I caught her in the pool, we were starting a game of chicken and I offered to let her ride my shoulders so she could play. After the game, we started talking and laughing and one thing led to another and we started making out in the pool."

"Mom and Dad tried to be the invisible chaperones at the party and so you never really saw them, but you knew they were still there. So it was weird knowing my mom was watching me practically screw around with some girl in the open, so I suggested that we slip off to somewhere more private."

The lump in my throat was growing larger and larger. I took a deep breath and continued onward.

"I told her it would be less obvious what we were doing if we left separately but that I'd meet her in the pool house in a few minutes. She agreed and went on ahead of me."

"I didn't know it at the time but Elena Lincoln had come over to discuss some charity plans with my mom and had been in the kitchen watching the whole thing.

I guess she got interested in what I was up to because when my mom called me in to help her bring some more snacks out to the party, I was technically the host after all, she apparently slipped over to the pool house and scared Amanda away. I unfortunately didn't know that bit until after it was all said and done."

The next part was the hardest to get through because even now, years later it still makes me feel dirty to think about.

"When I walked into the pool house it was fairly dark but when I walked in I stepped on Amanda's wet bathing suit that she had thrown on the floor. I couldn't believe that she had gotten naked, but when I heard a female voice telling me to leave the light off and join them on the bed I guess my cock was doing all of the thinking at that point. I stripped down and climbed onto the bed."

Looking at Ana, I couldn't believe I was about to say this next part to her. Using sweet innocent terms and descriptions wasn't right for what happened to me, but the thought of describing such vial things to her turned my stomach just to think of them.

The look on Ana's face didn't help matters either. She was still holding my hand with hers, but her other was covering her mouth telling me that she had probably figured out what I was about to reveal.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding vulgar and crash, Ana but to explain it any other way feels like I would be condoning it too."

She gripped my hand with both of hers as she gave me time to find the right words for the next part of the story.

"I was pushed back onto the bed and before I know it I was getting the best blowjob I'd ever received. Granted I was only sixteen at the time, I wasn't exactly hooking up with every girl in town, so my sexual knowledge was pretty much limited to porn and the internet with the occasional hand job from a date. But nothing like this. I was on the verge of busting a nut within the first couple of minutes of getting sucked off. I kept trying to think of something else to make it last longer when suddenly her mouth stopped and I could feel her body moving up mine. Granted, I hadn't explored Amanda's body that well when we were making out, but I knew from the feel that something wasn't right. Her breasts were too big and hard and her thighs were huge in comparison to what I remember from the pool. My bare cock was just slipping into her pussy when she leaned over and whispered into my ear that she was going to teach me how to fuck a real woman. It was like an explosion went off in my head and I pushed her off of me and jumped out of the bed. I knocked over tons of stuff on the side table trying to find the lamp light. Laying there, completely nude with her hand between her legs stroking herself was Elena Lincoln."

I didn't realize I had been crying until that moment when Ana yanked her hands from mine. I guess I deserved her reaction. I felt like vomiting just thinking about it. I watched as she stood up, turning her back to me. In that moment, I wasn't sure which felt worse, knowing I'd had sex with Elena Lincoln; a woman old enough to be my mom or that Ana had rejected me.

I was a blubbering mess at this point. I could barely catch my breath I was crying so hard. I felt like my insides were caving in on me. I finally told someone the truth and I disgusted the person I trusted.

The next thing I knew, two arms were wrapped tightly around me and Ana was holding me. A couple of minutes must have passed before she pulled back and wiped my face with the tissue in her hand. I didn't know what to call the look I saw in her eyes but I could tell what she was feeling by the tone of her voice. She was pissed.

"This was not your fault." She said it with such conviction that for a second I almost believed her.

I couldn't help but laugh. Not my fault. I had been trying to convince myself of that for years, but I kept replaying in my head what Elena said that night when I told her that I was going to tell mom and dad what she had done to me.

" _Look at yourself. You were enjoying it as much as I was or else your cock wouldn't still be hard as a delicious rock. Do you really want to explain to your precious, saintly mother who took you in off the streets that you were fucking her best friend?"_

"Elena hit me right where she knew I was most vulnerable. I was always afraid that mom and dad might have regretted adopting me. I wasn't always the easiest child to live with. I wasn't like Christian. Sure he had his problems, but he was a straight A student, he played the piano, he was always around mom wanting to help her with everything. I just enjoyed doing my own thing. I thought staying out of their way was the best thing, then they would never have a reason to regret having me as their son."

"Grace and Carrick adore you, Elliott. They love all three of you. You'd have to be blind to not be able to see that," Ana pleaded.

"But she was right. I was turned on that night, so much so that I had to jerk off after I grabbed my clothes and escaped to the house. I couldn't seem to get my hard-on to go down."

My face was a deep shade of red by now, both from crying so fucking much and from embarrassment for having confessed that the old crone had given me an erection from hell.

"Just because you were aroused does not mean that you were okay with what she was doing to you. She practically raped you, Elliott."

Rape! This time it was me who yanked my hands away from Ana's. No fucking way did she rape me; you can't rape a man anyway.

I felt like I had been kicked in the balls. Why would she say that to me?

I stepped away from her, closer to the pier. I couldn't breathe. Rape. No. It wasn't possible. I got hard. I was turned on.

Ana came around to face me again and before I go turn away from her she gripped my arms in her hands forcing me to face her.

"If a woman is wet when she is raped does that mean she enjoyed it? That she asked for it?"

I was locked into Ana's stare and couldn't look away.

"Of fucking course not. She can't help it if her body reacts to stuff. If she said no, then that's the end of it. If it was against her will then that's the end of it. You can't take someone's fucking choice away from them." I was screaming at Ana now, but she never flinched. She just kept on.

"Then if a woman can't be held responsible for her body's reactions then why should you? You had no idea that the woman seducing you wasn't Amanda that night, did you?"

It was like what she was saying was slowly filtering into my brain.

"Men are just as sensitive to touch as women are. You can't help that there are things that turn you on any more than when someone pokes you in the side you giggle because you are ticklish."

I never thought of it like that. Was it possible that that night wasn't my fault? Did I have a right to feel violated from what Elena did to me?

"But I didn't say no." The small spark of hope that maybe this wasn't my fault quickly fizzled out when I realized I hadn't said no to Elena.

"Stop!" Ana held my face in her hands as she spoke making sure I was focused on her.

"You were a minor, Elliott. She was a woman in her 30's. You walked in there expecting it to be someone you trusted and instead you found a child molester waiting for you. She took your choices away from you that night. This was NOT your fault."

The grip Ana had on my face began to soften as I let what she had said sink in. It wasn't my fault. I was a kid. A young, stupid kid that thought he was going to make out with a girl my own age. This wasn't my fault.

I began to shake. Could it be that for almost 13 years I had continuously beat myself up over something that wasn't my fault? How many women did I fuck just to try to wash away the memory of that night, to prove that I wasn't a terrible person?

Ana was waiting. I knew what she was waiting for and I wanted to say it so badly, but more importantly I wanted to mean it too.

"It wasn't my fault," I whispered right before Ana's arms came around me in a hug.

To say I was balling like a baby would be putting babies to shame. I was inconsolable. How had I not reasoned this out myself after all of these years? Why did it take me so long?

My legs felt like jelly and I suddenly couldn't seem to hold myself upright anymore.

Ana helped me to the grass with her arms still wrapped around me.

"You have to tell your mom and dad, Elliott," Ana whispered to me.

Yanking back from her I couldn't believe what she was suggesting. Telling Ana was one thing but telling my parents was a completely different thing.

"You have to tell them. The more people that know, the more people that love you and understand the more people that can help you get through this."

I took a deep breath, "How in God's name do I tell my mother that her best friend molested me?"

"Oh my god!"

Turning around, I found myself looking into the ashen white face of my mother.

* * *

 **Author's note: It felt like the right place to end the chapter. I'm sorry if it didn't turn out exactly as you had thought. I have strong feelings on the concept of rape. Men can be raped just like women. It's not a violation owned by just one sex. Unfortunately due to the stigma attached to rape and the difficulty in prosecuting the cases, men are far less likely to ever report it than women are. Men are taught they should be tough and that if a woman takes advantage of him that he's not "manly". Well that's a lie. Rape is rape, it doesn't matter what sex you are and who does it. If something like that were to ever happen to you, please do yourself a favor and seek help. That is something no one should ever have to deal with alone.**


	12. Chapter 12

**The Sound of You: Chapter 12**

 **Author's note: Please excuse all the errors. I've tried to catch them, but I'm sure I've missed a few. Thank you to those who've stayed after me to get this posted. I hope it was worth the wait.**

* * *

 **APOV**

I didn't feel right standing there gawking at Elliott as he explained to Grace what she had overheard, so I hugged him, gathered Henry and went back inside.

I didn't know what to do with this information that Elliott had told me. I knew I couldn't tell anyone else, even Christian because it wasn't my story to tell, but part of me wished I could. Not because I wanted to gossip about it, but because I kept thinking if I told him then that would be one less person that Elliott would have to tell. One less time he'd have to relive the whole thing over and over again to each person who loved him and deserved to be able to be there for him.

Henry ran inside ahead of me heading straight for Christian, plopping down at his feet. The scene that met me was surreal. Everyone was right where we had left them when we stepped outside. It was like time had stood still even though it had to have been at least half an hour that we were out there.

Looking around the table I took in the reactions of those waiting to figure out what was going on. Nana and Theodore along with Carrick were all anxiously watching out the back door as Grace took my place at Elliott's side. Kate and Mia were sitting beside one another, softly chatting about what I couldn't tell and then there was Christian. Sweet, wonderful Christian. He looked at me like I was the best thing he'd seen in a long time. His smile made his eyes twinkle, his cheeks had a slight blush to them and his lips were a perfect shade of pink. Everything about him screamed to come to him and I found myself instantly drawn to his side.

Taking my seat and pulling it as close as possible to him, I carefully wrapped my arms around him so as not to hurt his badly bruised ribs and buried my face against his chest. He smelled so good, like bath soap, cool sheets and just man.

His arms cuddled me close and in that moment I was so thankful that I had him to lean on. The weight of Elliott's confession to me was suddenly feeling like a boulder sitting on my shoulders.

It seemed like only a few minutes had passed before Christian was pushing me back and directing my attention to a furious Grace that was racing into the room with Elliott close on her heels.

I couldn't read the look he gave me as he passed by with Carrick swiftly following after his wife and son, but from the frantic way everyone was moving about it was clear that I was missing out on the conversation.

 **Christian's POV**

I was miserable sitting there picking at my food while Ana was outside with Elliott. I don't know how many times I had looked outside to see what was going on, but each time it seemed like Ana was touching Elliott in a new way. Inside I knew my brother would never make a move on a girl I was interested in and so I knew there was nothing to it, but part of me couldn't help but wish she were in my arms holding me that way.

It wasn't until she and Henry had come back inside and I saw that she had obviously been crying that I knew the scenario was actually not something I would have wanted to be part of. I never want to be the cause of Ana crying to the extent she obviously had been. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was heavily tousled from running her hands through it too much, her nose was bright red from wiping it, and her eyes were puffy from crying. I couldn't help but think she was still beautiful, but I wanted so badly to go to her and pull her into my arms to make it all better. Had I not had this damned broken leg I would have done just that, bruised ribs be damned.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long for her to come to me instead and when she snuggled close to me I did the only thing I knew I could do and that was to hold her.

Mom had gone out only a couple of minutes before Ana had come back in to see what she could do to help Elliott, who to all of us indoors could tell was clearly devastated over something. We expected the scene we watched as she wrapped her arms around her little boy, much like she has always tried to do for me and Mia whenever we were hurt or upset. What we didn't expect to see next though was for her to come storming into the room soon after that hug, slamming doors, deliberately making her way to dad's den.

Ana couldn't tell what was going on and I honestly had no idea how to explain to her that it seemed like everyone in the house was yelling. I motioned over to Kate to join us and asked her to explain to Ana what was going on as I gingerly got up to get my crutches.

Nana and Gramps had both run from their chairs towards the den where as I slowly got closer and closer I could hear my mom's pain-filled wails as she argued with Nana and dad.

"I brought that monster into this house, Carrick. I allowed that bitch to get her hands on my child. I am going to fuck her up so badly no one will ever recognize her."

There was a great deal of shifting of items in the room before I was finally able to reach the door only to see my father pull mom into his arms as she crumbled to the floor. There were papers scattered everywhere from my father's desk and the security door to the gun rack was open.

I couldn't seem to do anything other than to stand there wide-eyed at the scene before me. My mom sobbed openly, begging my dad to kill the rancid woman who hurt her baby, while Nana was consoling an equally upset Elliott.

"She deserves to pay for what she did to him, Carrick. That's why he stopped letting us throw him birthday parties after his 16th. That's why he never left Christian alone whenever she came into the house after that. It all makes so much sense now. I let him down. I didn't protect him. She hurt my baby boy. She hurt my baby boy."

You could barely make out her words as she spoke while sobbing and gasping for breath. I had never seen my mother in such a frantic and destroyed state. She was on the verge of hyperventilating, she was sobbing so hard.

"Love, if you don't calm down you are going to pass out. You have to breathe baby."

My father was never much for "pet names" for my mother, but in that instance I think that was perhaps the only thing that was reaching her mentally.

"Theo, Addy, please take Elliott to his room and stay with him till I can get there. He doesn't need to see this," dad asked as he held my mother's wailing form in his arms.

I moved slowly out of the way as Nana and Grandpa held Elliott up as he passed me heading upstairs to his bedroom.

Before he left the room though he turned back to dad, "I'm so sorry dad. I'm so very sorry."

"You did nothing wrong son. Don't you dare blame yourself, I'll fix this don't you worry."

It was then that dad must have noticed me standing there, "Son, would you mind just giving your mother and me a moment alone please."

He saw my questioning look towards mom. None of us kids could ever stand to see our beloved mother upset. She was the corner stone to our family and to see her so shattered tore at my core. But I did as he asked, slowly closing the door and backing away so as not to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Making my way slowly back to the kitchen, Kate was signing faster than I had ever seen before pointing towards me to indicate to Ana my return. She quickly rose from her seat and walked towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

Gently pushing her back so that I was certain I had her attention I asked, "What's going on Ana? You know don't you? Please tell me," I begged. At this point I wasn't beyond begging to know what was devastating my family so deeply. I may be a young man, but I was good at problem solving, but I had to know the problem before I could set about correcting it.

Ana slowly shook her head as huge tears formed and slipped down her cheeks.

 _It's not my story to tell and I can't betray your brother's trust in me, even to you._ _I'm so sorry._ She signed as Kate spoke what she was signing.

Gently wrapping my hand around Ana's neck I brought her head back to my chest thus bringing her body flush against mine. I didn't hold any ill will towards Ana, in fact I admired her for keeping my brother's confidence even if I wanted, no needed to know what was tearing my family apart right now.

I was getting very tired standing for so long, something Ana seemed to pick up on.

"Let's move you to the couch before you fall over," she said as she pulled away allowing me to maneuver with my crutches to the sofa.

It took some maneuvering, but eventually I was able to lower myself comfortably to the couch and Ana raised my broken leg to rest on some pillows. Looking around me, I wasn't sure what to do at this point. Throughout the house there seemed to be scenarios occurring that I couldn't explain because I was only picking up snippets of what was going on. Mom and Dad's room had finally gone quiet, but upstairs Elliott's old room seemed to be just starting up. I could hear banging and things falling as though he were tearing his old room apart.

Mia, Kate, Ana and I were all seemingly bystanders watching everything going on around us, helpless to intervene.

It felt like hours had passed but actually it was only a few minutes before I heard the soft click made from the shutting of a bedroom door. Henry's head rose in anticipation of the person, watching as my father walked from the hall to the living room.

He looked like he had aged twenty years. His hair was a mess from having run his hands through it, there were splotches of wet on his shoulder from where mom had obviously been crying, and he looked like he was physically in pain.

I made to get up but he motioned for me to stay in my seat instead he perched on the coffee table in front of me. He took a long deep breath that seemed to drag his shoulders down as he released it before speaking, "son, I've got something I need to speak to you about. It's very important that you listen to me completely before you say anything."

I looked down when I saw that Ana's hand had come to rest on my forearm, her other was grasped tightly in mine. I loosened my fingers a little but didn't let her go. I was not going to like this and I had a feeling she wanted to be there for me anyway by the way she curled up to my side.

Taking a deep breath, "okay."

It took fifteen minutes for him to get the whole way through the story that my mom had told him about what had happened to Elliott when we were kids. It took fifteen minutes for him to explain that my big brother, the guy who had been for years a rock and protector for me, had been attacked by a woman who was seen as a family friend.

I found it difficult to breathe but in short small pants. All of the sound from the room had disappeared and all I could hear was my own brain pounding in my ears. I could feel Ana's hand on my back as she attempted to comfort me. Kate and Mia stood across the room from us softly crying, their arms wrapped around each other.

My father's lips were moving.

After a moment I finally found my voice, "What are we going to do about this?"

"I don't know what we can do son, the law isn't exactly on our side." The look of pain on my father's face was hard to see. He was one of the best prosecutors in the entire state, there had to be something we could do. This bitch was not going to get off scot-free.

"On our side. What the fuck does that mean?" I was trying hard not to be angry with my father, it wasn't his fault that the law was the way it was, and he was just the receiver of my anger at the moment.

"Washington State doesn't have unlimited punishment deadlines for sex offences. They typically expire on the victims 28th birthday. There is new legislation that they are trying to pass to extend it till 30, but it won't be retroactive."

"Well what the hell are we waiting for? Elliott won't turn 28 for two more years. Let's nail this bitch to the fucking wall." I felt renewed, like I had a purpose. The blanket of darkness that had engulfed my family tonight finally had pinpricks of hope shining through.

Reaching for my phone, I pulled up my contacts list to call Walsh, my IT specialist so that he could begin the process of gathering all of the information on Elena Pedophile Lincoln. But my father stopped me before I could hit send on the call.

 **Carrick's POV**

"We don't know if your brother is going to want to prosecute this yet or not son. We can't jump to making plans until we can talk all of this over with Elliott."

"Not want to prosecute?" Mia said as she wiped her eyes and nose with a tissue. "Why would he not want to prosecute that evil witch that did this to him daddy?"

How do you explain to your children why a victim wouldn't want to prosecute a case like this? I had seen one too many cases similar to this where the victim refused to prosecute because it would turn into a case of he said/she said. They just couldn't handle the months of being torn apart on the stand by both sides trying to win the case.

In my head I was desperately trying to push aside the royal indignation that this had happened to my child to try to explain this from a prosecutor's perspective and not that of a father's. As a father I completely agreed with them. I wanted to race out and find Elena and wrap my hands around her throat until I squeezed the last breath from her body. If I hadn't of gotten to her quickly, I completely believe that Grace would have had that gun down and loaded that she was racing for in the den. The parent in men understood her rage, the prosecutor side of me was attempting to find some sort of legal loophole I could destroy her with instead.

Gently taking Mia's hand, I pulled her down beside me on the coffee table. I motioned for Kate to take the seat beside Ana on the couch. "Sweetheart, if we had found this out when Elliott was a minor then it would have essentially been up to us to pursue prosecution. Elliott is a grown man. He's been dealing with this for a decade in silence. He may not want anyone to know that this happened to him. Had she not been here tonight and triggered his reaction, who's to say it would have come out at all? There is a huge stigma attached to rape and molestation when it happens to children, much less when it happens to young men."

"But that's just stupid. He didn't ask for his to happen. It's not his fault that that evil bitch preyed on him." Mia was quickly becoming highly agitated at the idea of her brother being attacked for seeking justice for himself.

"I agree. But society judges men differently about these sorts of things. We teach boys not to hit girls because they are the weaker sex. Boys are taught to be kinder to women because boys are built with tougher material than women. Think about it, whenever there is a domestic abuse call, the police almost always assume it is the man who is the aggressor. A man that allows a woman to do this to him, in the eyes of society at least, may be made out to be less of a man. Do we really want that for Elliott?"

"It sounds like you just want Elliott to let it go," said Christian a look of anger filling his face.

Squaring my shoulders, I looked my son straight into his eyes before speaking, "I love you kids with my whole heart. I first want Elliott to get help so that he can deal with that fact that this is all out in the open, at least to his family. I want him to be able to talk to someone objective, because none of us want to do anything other than to rip Elena Lincoln to shreds. Then, and only then, when he's ready, if he wants to prosecute her, I'll come after her with the full force of the state of Washington on our side. And God help her when I get done with her, because she won't know the shit-storm that is about to be rained down on her."

The stairs gave a slight creak of the wood to indicate that someone was there. His eyes were rimmed red, his shirt was untucked from his jeans and his hear was a mess, but Elliott looked more forceful and more sure than I had seen him in a long while.

"When do we start?"

* * *

 **Author's note.**

 **Thank you to everyone that has been emailing and reviewing for this story. I've greatly appreciate the interest and the encouragement to continue this story. I can't fully explain why this chapter took so long. I've had health issues, schools come to an end and is getting ready to restart, VBS happened etc. etc. etc…and as my mom would say, "I ran out of peanut butter". You know, one excuse is just as good as another. I am however going to be trying to get another chapter up before Monday. I'm going to do a very slight time jump just to progress the story a long a little bit. But no worries, it won't be much.**

 **Thank you again for those reading and for those who care enough to encourage me to keep going. It means a great deal to me.**


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